Seed
by TheOtherAnt
Summary: An alternate universe where the Endbringers attack in a few different places and order that leads to Taylor gaining Blasto's shard. Desperate to be a hero, Taylor does something clever but incredibly dangerous to give herself the power to save the city and chooses to become a Heroic Warlord to save the city from itself.
1. 1-1

Part 1

Research and Development

Seed 1-1

My watch rang, and I sighed. An hour was barely enough time to do anything useful during lunch.

I logged off of the website, and set my watch alarm for an hour. I stretched my legs to rub some feeling back into them. I had been sitting in that chair for too long.

I pushed play on the speaker, and the audio book started up on again where I had left off. Having more free time to read made up a little for the lack of social interaction now that I wasn't going to Winslow. The postings on PHO did help to meet my some of biological social needs. Research showed that healthy social interactions could help decrease my depressive feelings in addition to my self-medication.

I yawned as I walked to the kitchen and pulled out the bread. I could make and eat a sandwich in an average time of 5minute and 23 seconds. Looking in the fridge made me realize that I had forgotten to buy more mayonnaise. I made a note for myself on the fridge-writing pad to buy it, as I poured the last of the coffee in a mug.

The SX-1 tightened a bit around my waist as I chugged down the coffee. Too much caffeine was bad for a growing body, but I needed a stimulant since I had been staying up alot lately. I checked my watch again as I cleaned up my mess. I had 55 minutes to look over my preparations for the SX-2 and finish creating the venom they would develop.

Then I had to get back and upload the rest of today's school assignments. After today I will have finished all the reports and projects that will be due for the rest of the year. Then my schedule allowed a three-hour power nap before I made dinner for Dad and me. I would go to the basement after he was asleep and start growing the SX-2 until I found a form that met my needs.

Next year could not come fast enough when I could finally test out of school and focus on my real work. I knew I shouldn't be complaining. School was a breeze now that I didn't have to worry about Emma and the others stealing all my assignments. Just being able to focus on my lessons and reading had caused my grades to soar without the side benefits of being a Tinker.

Biology and Science were so easy now that having to do the assignments seemed like pointless busywork. I had already checked out and read most of the biology and animal science books in the library anyway. I could teach the class better than the teachers had at Winslow.

Now that I think about it that was a good idea for earning some extra money. I pulled out my ideas notebook, volume 2 and wrote Tutor by the hour next to moneymaking ideas. I needed some extra money for future projects, but I felt guilty asking dad for more after he gave me so much already with a large allowance.

After the settlement money from the lawsuits had come in, I thought we would have enough to meet all my needs for equipment and materials. But that had very quickly been proven false as I used all of my allowance, including an advance, just buying the basic materials for making the most basic seed.

I sighed again as I finished cleaning up and started to disinfect my hands, thinking of all the lab equipment I wanted. I hadn't realized how expensive and hard to get basic lab equipment was. Everything that was sold was carefully tracked because others could use the equipment to cook drugs and worse.

I had an idea of taking on a job at the hospital that would let me watch patients and doctors do their work. But I would have to convince dad first. He wouldn't like the idea of me working late at night. But that was when the hospital needed people to watch patients in their rooms, and paid the most. He might be more open to the idea when I showed him that I had finished all the years school work already, and reminded him of my stated plan to be a neurologist.

Glancing at my watch, I unlocked the door to the basement and turned on the light. I remembered to step over the broken step as I put on my gloves. I had cleaned up the basement a bit, but it was still filled with old boxes of mom's stuff that dad couldn't bring himself to get rid of. We really should buy a storage space, but dad didn't want to waste money when the basement was big enough for our needs.

I moved a few boxes, and crawled under through a little tunnel to the hidden alcove where I stored my first generation lab equipment. It wasn't much, just the terrarium, my chemistry kit, the glass box made from an old aquarium, and my custom made computer. I still kept it around mostly for convenience sake so I could tinker a bit without having to go to the lab.

I picked up the pheromone bottle that attracted the SX-1 and sprayed the terrarium. It immediately began uncurling from around my waist and went down my arm to rest under the sun lamp while slowly coming out of my sleeve.

I couldn't help but feel a bit of pride looking at it, despite it looking rather ugly. I had spent a whole day growing it from the second seed I had ever made. I had never grown a Lusus before, and my impatience was the cause for how weird it looked.

It was a darkish green color, about 3 and half feet long, and looked like an unusual snake. Though the differences became rather more obvious after a second look. Its eyes were way too small for one thing. It looked blind at first glance, but it did have tiny eyes that were both on the left side of its face. The body proportions were a little off compared to other snakes. The most obvious difference was the rattle, which was a bit too over sized compared to a regular rattlesnake.

It rarely used the rattle when threatened, even when I sprayed the attack pheromone. I wasn't sure yet why it never rattled it as a warning like I intended. I didn't yet know if most of its instinct came from the base form of a garden snake, or the rattlesnake DNA I added to the seed it was grown from.

I wouldn't find out until I examined its brain after it died and compared it to the brain of a normal garden and rattle snake. That might be a few weeks off based on how healthy it was at the moment. It had lasted much longer than I had predicted based off the crappy quality of the materials and the seed I used to make it.

The poor quality did have an effect on its behavior though. It still bumped into things, and would lunge suddenly at the air for no reason. The first time it did that had caused me to flail and fall on my butt. While I knew it was friendly, I had removed its fangs and venom sacks almost immediately after that little episode.

While the pheromones kept it docile, I didn't want to dad to freak out if he found it.

Trying to explain that I had another new hobby besides the vegetable and flower garden in the backyard would be unusual. It involving taking care of weird snakes would be a big red flag besides it having huge fangs.

I walked over to the cage nearby and pulled out a mouse to feed it. The SX-1 was enough of a plant that it got part of its energy needs from my upgraded UV lamp, but it still needed to eat regular mice to supplement its diet. The mice were self-replicating, and the clones would breed fast once I activated that sequence in them. I could save money by not having to buy more mice to feed the future SX models I would grow.

I really needed to grow a Lusus to a sufficient size before I could use it as a base form for even larger creations. I couldn't just bulk buy monkeys, farm animals, and bears from the pet store after all. Besides while my power seems to have given me a strong stomach against blood and guts, I don't think I could bring myself to kill a monkey or dog. That was a bit hypocritical since I was killing snakes, but no one kept snakes for cuddly pets.

My plan was to grow young or adolescent versions of base forms and manipulate them to grow quickly. If I made it a certain size while having it mature, I was positive I could cause it to grow to a much more useful size. But that could take weeks of trimming seed forms, and I didn't have the time yet in my schedule until all my schoolwork was finally finished.

I had to be very concise in my schedule to do all of the schoolwork ahead of time, eat, and tinker while moving things around to sleep and work when dad was not at work or asleep himself. For once I was glad that he was so busy that he had to work late all the time. Things had been so busy and hard for him ever since the economy had started tanking.

Brockton Bay had benefited greatly when Boston had been sealed after the Simurgh attacked it when I was little. But things were still pretty bad despite the extra benefits from the ships at the dock coming in. There were talks of a strike if the governor made good on his threat to pass something to stop the Unions bargaining power.

Dad usually ate dinner and talked with me when he got home, spent an hour relaxing or watching TV, than went straight to sleep. The lawsuit money had improved our finances dramatically but he still pushed himself to work hard to try and help the dockworkers, as work got harder to find. Though at least part of it was probably also to keep out of the house that had so many memories of mom.

I walked to the small clear aquarium where my next batch of first generation seeds was being grown. I almost had enough seeds to grow what I wanted. Being a Tinker was a little weird in that I could visualize exactly what I wanted and could make already without experimentation. The problem was figuring out how to backtrack and make the idea work with what I had.

I envisioned having a half dozen SX models wrapped around my body that I could hide under my clothes. I would give the pheromone to attack, and they would move away from me to deal with whomever I sprayed. Though I would put the pheromone into a breakable paper ball instead of a sprayer for long range. They could also rattle and make noise to scare off anyone who tried to mess with me. Hopefully they would think I could grow snakes out of my body. That way everyone would guess I was a master rather than a Tinker.

Of course I had no intention of going out as a hero yet. The snakes were just for self-defense when I went out at night to gather materials, and build at my lab. Brockton Bay was dangerous at night, and I wanted something to defend myself before I started sneaking out more. All my other ideas of Lusus with night vision, and something I could ride to escape trouble had to wait. I just didn't have the equipment or materials yet to even begin something like that. I had to go slowly and stay under the radar for as long as possible.

I had done the research on Tinkers and it was pretty depressing. Most didn't last long by themselves. They were forcibly recruited by gangs, killed to keep someone else from recruiting them, or affiliated in some way with the PRT though they had a lot of restrictions. Only a very few actually seemed to join Toybox, and it was a much smaller organization than I had first pictured.

I really didn't want to work under the PRT, at least not yet. I would have been required to join the wards, and I had enough teen drama when I was at Winslow. This wasn't getting into the fact that my specialty would scare people with how similar it was to what Nilbog could do. They would be suspicious of and restrict anything I made if I joined them, and I knew that I could make a difference in the city.

I had been both excited and filled with apprehension when I figured out my specialty. I had just uploaded all of the hidden video footage to a DVD to show a lawyer, and had a stray thought of using a bird to fly around with my camera for some cool footage. I remember the shock and excitement when I realized that I had several ideas on exactly how to make a bird.

My specialty lets me literally create life from raw materials. I can fashion homunculus from stuff you buy at the garden and drug store. I decided to call my creations Lusus Naturae, or Lusus for short, which was latin for whim of nature. I had a million ideas for Lusus to protect people walking the streets at night, and specially made farm animals that required little to take care of them and would help feed people.

I knew how the PRT felt about self-producing creations, but they would surely be okay with helping to feed the world. I'd take numerous precautions and I wouldn't mention the self-replication until I was a trusted hero. I would hide that I was a Tinker until I had enough power to defend myself, and create something useful to sell to the PRT.

Researching capes had made me very cautious about not going out until I was ready. There were a grand total of two independent Tinkers that had lasted longer than three years in the United States right now. Though both were villains, and I was going to be a hero.

Void was a tinker in New Orleans whose specialty was a variety of short ranged teleporters. He had lasted so long by being hard to catch, and rumor on PHO was that even his lab moved around. His MO was a high tech thief, teleporting into rich people's houses and various tech places to steal what he wanted. Though it was reported that he had quickly became used to the finer things in life based off the fact that not everything he stole was fenced. He seemed to become more versatile the more familiar he was with an area. He wasn't as effective outside his territory, and a local group of hero shifters had been his main rivals for years. He was seen as strictly small time until recently when he gained a very high blaster rating. It seemed he had devised a way to teleport a portion of a person away and had killed a powerful local Brute. He had started charging protection for parahumans who entered his territory and tried to assassinate anyone who didn't pay.

Overmind on the other hand was some type of hive mind tinker in Seattle, with drones and implanted henchman. There was a lot more information on her. She had started as a prostitute called Leshawna Wilson before triggering and being forced to join a local street gang called the Ballers almost immediately. The gang had very quickly risen in power with its members becoming similar to commandos, and acting amazingly coordinated against rivals and cops. It seemed they could share skills, communicate information between each other, and had improved reaction times with drones acting as spies and mobile defense platforms. They had quickly taken over the local projects and gangs, swelling in membership and being led by a low level Thinker called Three C. Many local teens had started piercing once side of their forehead with gold jewelry to copy the old implants that weren't internal like the higher-level members. Despite their power they didn't really try to expand their territories or operations because of other powerful villains in the city.

No one knows if it was because they weren't expanding anymore, or she just didn't like not being in charge but Leshawna, now calling herself Overmind, had simply notified every member of the network that she was now calling the shots. When people tried to fight her, she simply lobotomized or fried the brain of anyone who didn't follow her orders. Scarily enough there were also rumors that she had limited control of the motor abilities of those she killed. Under her control, the gang had started to aggressively expand and she was fond of siege tactics that were hard to root out. She had become such a nuisance that the PRT had moved team members around to create a custom team to deal specifically with her, which was starting to prove effective at ousting her forces.

Luckily I didn't require as much mechanical equipment as other Tinkers since I worked with biological material. Clumps of earth, distilled water, some drugs from the drug stores, and a custom computer that I bought parts for and managed to put together myself. My main issue had been lab equipment, and a machine shop to build stuff. It had taken me two weeks of carefully mixing a few things with some samples to make my first seeds. While the seeds were amazing they had a lot of flaws since they were only first generation and all my Lusus simply would not last longer than a few weeks. I didn't have the tools yet to create the next generation of seed, and it would take money and time to build the basic equipment I wanted to really get started.

I had stolen my basic lab stuff from Winslow, after the principal had refused to take action against Emma and Sophia. It was weird but I felt horribly guilty not at the fact that I stole from the school, but that I didn't feel guilty at stealing from them. The school had completely failed in its duty to protect me, but it wasn't like that excused stealing. Dad had raised me better than that, and mom would have lectured me but I just couldn't feel bad about it. I promised myself that once I was a trusted hero with plenty of sponsors I would pay them back with interest.

And things were finally starting to come together on the state of my equipment to build what I needed to be a hero. It was almost torture to not immediately grab the equipment and materials I needed and start making what I wanted. I had a million ideas for Lusus, but I learned my lessons from studying Overmind and Void. I took my time gathering materials to not arouse suspicion, trusted no one, and would try to hide what I was capable of whenever possible. I promised myself that I would not go out until my equipment was ready.

Once my snakes were grown, I already knew what my first stop would be. I had spent the first week after had confirmed that I had a power just wandering around and taking notes of my tech tree, and what it would take to build up to it. I had carefully made a note of things I could use, and I remembered an old hospital that had closed down on the north end of town a few years ago.

I had read about it in a local haunted places of Brockton Bay book, and based on my research they had to have some neuro imaging equipment that I needed to help build something to help "program" my Lusus.

The information I could give them right now was very limited, and was sort of like teaching rats how to run a maze but done in a few seconds after creating them. I couldn't reprogram minds already "programmed", so I had to create brand new SX Lusus to program them to curl around me, and come when I gave a signal. I couldn't be a good hero if I couldn't control my creations, and there was no way I was going create intelligent ones.

I was also hoping to find some copper wire to salvage in the walls, and I could teach the Lusus to move into and gather it without making holes. I really needed the money for materials before I could build my first human sized model. I had an idea for getting around not having a human sized base for it after watching a documentary on the future of food and scientists efforts to grow meat in a lab.

I figured I could grow a living, and expanding organism that I could grow as big as needed for a base for my Lusus. While I needed something living for my current seeds to work, my "meat moss" should qualify.

I carefully poured the distilled water into the tank, and spent the rest of the hour organizing my samples and materials. I had the seed carefully suspended in the large former fish tank, and checked on the portable generator I had made from a car battery.

I looked at a slide of the venom I had extracted from the SX-1, and compared it to other genetic samples of snake venom and drugs on my computer. I got most of my research from a few medical databases that didn't have good security. I needed venom that would stop a person, but there was no such thing as a perfect tranquilizer for every person. Too little and it did nothing, but too much could be deadly. I had spent almost a week but I had finally thought I had something that would paralyze the nerves without causing pain, but wouldn't have another other side affects. It still wasn't completely perfect, but I would have some anti-venom in case someone had a bad reaction.

Now I just had to create the template for the venom, and copy it in the right place of the DNA of the seed and a copy of the SX-1. Unfortunately I couldn't directly create or modify something from the start yet. That wasn't until the very end of the tech tree, and could take years to build up to. Right now I would be stuck using trial and error, while carefully trimming the biological growths of the seed as they developed until I had a form that used that venom. I had a pair of very sharp knives I had turned into scalpels to remove the growths I didn't want. I would then bury them into the garden in the backyard. Luckily the Lusus were enough of a plant that there wouldn't be unusual dead animal smells to rouse suspicion from the neighbors.

Since the SX-1 forms were not that big, it would not take long to grow and trim forms, but it could still take many hours before I had a form that had the right makeup of venom and shape that would meet my purposes. I could slow the seeds growth but couldn't stop it from splitting and growing once I started. I would start it tomorrow after dad left in the morning. Now that I didn't have to worry about schoolwork I had more than enough time to grow the right form. Then I could simply clone some more seeds and clone at least half a dozen more SX-2s to defend myself with when I started to go to my lab at night. I had spent time doing nothing but making sure it was hidden. I was so excited to finally being able to make what I imagined. I'm going to change this city for the better. I know it.

Dad arrived at 7:32 and I gave him a hug as he came in. Research showed that strong family relationships could help people with depressive symptoms cope better, so I made it a point to try and spend time with dad.

"Its not that I don't appreciate it, but you don't have to hug me every time Taylor," he said with a laugh.

I ignored him but released my hold. "Dinner is ready. I made a marinated, grilled fish, and a salad from the garden."

He put his bag next to the door, and immediately started to eat.

"Wash your hands, you animal." I joked. "How was your day dad?"

"Busy and I had to deal with a lot of angry and frustrated people. If the governor makes good on passing his bill, then a strike is a sure thing."

"How long do you think it could last?"

"I'm not sure Taylor. But people are underestimating how angry everyone is. I know that it won't be too hard to shut down the dock and they can't force us out. But don't worry about work Taylor, how was your day?"

"I'm a week ahead in my assignments. I know I would pass if I took that test today.", I said with confidence.

"That's great Taylor, but you are on the waiting list for arcadia. A new school will be a fresh start. You don't have to graduate so early. You should be out making friends."

"It could be awhile before I get in, and it just feels so pointless at this point. My grades have never been higher, and I intend to test out when I turn 16."

"Well if it really doesn't work, I promise you can just take the test and get your GED." he said as he put his hand on my shoulder. "But I would still like for you to try and make some friends. Not everyone is like Emma. Regardless, once all this labor trouble is over, why don't we take a vacation? Just the two of us."

"I'd love that dad."

I felt a new flash of guilt at Dad as he smiled at me. I returned the smile in turn, and we made small talk while we ate.

Should I just tell him everything? I gave it a lot of thought as dad ate. He'd probably insist I join the wards or tell the PRT. Especially because I'm a Tinker, and he would get scared at how dangerous is was for new Tinkers. If I imagined myself in the PRT shoes, I would be the last hero they would want. A Tinker with abilities similar to Nilbog, who can't control her creations? Yeah the PRT would just love to support me.

No, I wouldn't tell dad until I was trusted hero. Then I would tell him everything.

We ate in relative silence while we watched the news. There was a small piece on the governors proposed bill. Some Dutch aristocrat had been assassinated by the Blasphemies, and there was some kind of scandal with the hero Bastion, who had shouted a racial slur on camera.

It was around 8 when I kissed dad good night, and went to my room. Dad usually fell asleep around 8:30 since he had started to get up earlier. I would wait until 9 before I left. The buses were open until ten on Fridays and started at 6:30 on Saturday.

I figured I could ride the bus to the lab, get off and spend a few hours growing the Lusus. Then take the first bus back home. Dad usually slept in until noon on Saturday, so I would have plenty of time to sneak back in and clean up.

Then I would tell Dad I was going to the library and sleep in the lab. Then head home and do the whole thing over again while collecting what I needed at the hospital. I quickly set my watch alarm and went to sleep.

I really, really need to get a car.

Dad had taken me driving twice already, and there had been strong hints that he would buy a car for me when I turned sixteen. He already said that I was a natural. I was confident that I could purchase a cheap clunker for a few hundred in disguise and fix it up. I had already read a few books detailing car repair and maintenance and my Tinker abilities seemed to give me a gift for basic mechanical knowledge. But I just didn't have the money for that right now. I was reminded of a quote by Salinger, "Goddam money. It always ends up making you blue as hell."

I was always a night owl, and staying out late tinkering had become second nature at this point, but I had never walked the streets of the docks at night. This was the real docks not the relatively safe area where my house was. I had gone to Winslow, so it wasn't as if I wasn't used to the gangs. You had to learn how to spot things and not draw attention to yourself. It was just a very different experience walking the streets at night. Despite the presence of the Lusus, I felt a little afraid.

Fear is an important survival trait of course. There are usually very good reasons to be afraid of something, and your chance of survival goes up by avoiding it. So intellectually I know why it's a normal and useful thing for people to be apprehensive in the dark. But that doesn't change the fact that being out in the open like this was very distressing. I felt like I was back at Winslow, unable to relax for a moment and being wary of everything.

The SX-2's squeezed in response and I felt a touch of reassurance at their presence. I had ended up bringing all six of them out with me. They curled around my waist and arms hidden under my oversized coat. I also had two of them hidden in my backpack and gym bag. I knew that I probably wouldn't be bothered too much. I was tall enough, and "sigh" flat enough that with my hood over my head I could be mistaken for a boy so I wouldn't seem like an easy victim.

The fact that I currently had an older male face also made it easy to hide who I was. One of my very first inventions had been a fungus with a human skin like quality. It had taken some practice, but growing and shaping it into a face hadn't been too hard. If I ever failed as a hero I could probably make a killing as a plastic surgeon.

I had ended up copying my regular face, but changed things around enough to seem like an older male. I could pass for close relative pretty easily. It wasn't completely perfect though. There was a little bit of an uncanny valley effect despite my best efforts. Though as long as no one looked too closely, it would pass inspection.

It was a little chilly tonight, which may have been why the streets were mostly empty with hardly any ABB members around. During the day there were large groups of them swaggering around wearing their colors proudly. But right now the sidewalks were almost empty which made everything seem so much more ominous.

This part of the docks showed that the Brockton was going through some tough times with the large amount of abandoned and boarded up buildings.

I sighed as I walked up to the bust stop. Someone was peeing in it. Lovely. I glanced at my watch. The bus should be here another five minutes. I wisely decided to wait well away from the bus stop while the man who looked like a junkie with his shaky hands was sitting down.

I imagined Emma laughing at a superhero waiting for the bus. I'd make a joke about a bus themed superhero called The Bus Driver. Then we'd laugh and start talking about something stupid.

It still comes so easily to me thinking that we are still friends. Imagining me joking and laughing with her. I can so easily picture sharing with her that I'm a parahuman and my plans to be a hero. I imagine her excitement, her showing of support and insistence on helping to make me a costume, and scheduling brainstorming sessions together at her house. Just the two of us, like always.

I forcibly push those thoughts aside. That was a far different Taylor, and a far different life. My friend is gone, and I need to stop living in the past.  
 _  
Where the hell is the stupid bus?_

The Lusus tighten suddenly when I hear a gunshot. Thankfully it's far away, and they relax as my breathing slows down. It's been too long since I have been out of the house and I have to get used to gunshots again. Things aren't too bad right now with the Butcher trying to expand in Saint Louis. The Teeth tend to just defend their borders when the Butcher is gone. Skidmark and Spree cared more about selling product than expanding territory.

PHO liked to say that Brockton Bay had seasonal hot and cold periods. During cold seasons the gangs tended to avoid fighting and trying to expand borders. There were occasional border skirmishes but very little open fighting. They usually entered a cold period when an Endbringer was due to arrive, or when the gangs were recovering from a nasty fight.

Then something would happen and set off a hot season. The Butcher would arrive and try to expand, the Empire would go out and do something nasty, someone major would go down like the Marquis, or Accord would try to force the Teeth out of Brockton again.

The bus is late, and I feel self-conscious standing alone here. Having nothing better to do, I started to picture what I would need to move my Lusus around. They'd bring too much attention just wandering the streets at night. The ability to move my Lusus where they were needed would be big issue in my effectiveness as a hero. I imagined having a series of non-nondescript trucks that I could hide them in as I moved them where needed.

I couldn't think of a way to make one that was big enough to transport others and also fly. There were limits to what I could grow, and making a tank big enough to grow something that size would be a giant waste of resources.

I turn and can't help but think finally when the bus rolls up. The SX-2 were a bit startled when the bus stopped suddenly in front of me. Thankfully I had programmed them to not rattle their tails without the little whistle sound I could make with my lips. I made a mental note to work on how skittish they were for future versions. I didn't want them freaking out at every loud noise. The older female driver stared at me a little as my coat moved, but didn't say anything as I climbed aboard.

In Brockton you learn to not say anything and not bring attention to yourself. Knowing this city, I honestly would not be surprised if she had seen weirder things at night. There were always rumors going around about weird stuff at night. The latest rumor on PHO was some kind of time holes that pushed you a few seconds forward and backward in time.

There was a large group of young looking ABB members in the back laughing and smoking despite the no smoking sign. I sat in the front, and looked at my watch again. The bus being late had put me behind schedule and I only had few hours before the buses closed, so I would have to be quick. I planned to take this bus to the last stop at the north part of town, then move through the patches of undeveloped land to the back of the hospital.

At my current walking speed, I should have roughly an hour to grab what I could find and be back in time. I had already scouted during the day, and knew there was a tree I could use to climb over the fence.

I sat and felt a little flustered that I had nothing to do. I hadn't brought my cell or ID, so I had nothing to distract me about my nervousness. There were of course so many things that could go wrong. The areas above and below the docks was Teeth territory, and I had heard all the stories about how the teeth liked to abduct people and make them fight with prospective members in big groups hoping for one of them to trigger. I could get caught and arrested for trespassing and any number of other nasty scenarios.

No, I said to myself. Stop and take ten deep breaths. I had already taken my medication, and I had practiced organizing my thoughts. The book I read on depression said to try and stop accentuating the negative. No one knew who I was, and I would be fine. I was going to find the equipment I needed to build a better way to program the Lusus and be back in time.

Despite trying to relax my muscles, I couldn't help but tense up as the bus moved. It really was like I was back in school.

I jumped despite myself as the ABB members started catcalling and for a second I thought it was at me. But they were focused on a pretty Asian woman who was obviously very uncomfortable. She and the other passengers didn't react despite the rather lewd remarks, continuing to stare straight ahead. It was well known that the ABB liked to force new immigrants to work off their debt they owed to the ABB in brothels. She decided to get off at the next stop and it looked like she was crying.

I feel this rage building up inside me. I carefully stared straight ahead to not show it despite the fact that I am nearly grinding my teeth. This is why I wanted to be a hero. It wasn't right that bastards like them made people afraid and I find myself thinking of Emma and Sophia.

When the bullying had started, I had tried to be a pacifist by not fighting back. I didn't want anyone to get hurt, and at least a part of me thought Emma might go back to being my friend. I didn't fight or react, I just tried to run away and read. But of course it didn't work. They escalated and started destroying my stuff, making me feel miserable, and wouldn't leave me alone.

Things didn't really change until mom had her accident and was in the hospital. I still didn't realize how bullies really worked until Emma had cornered me one day and started to make fun of my mother. She blamed me for causing her accident and said horrible things about her. And I snapped.

I finally realized that Bullies don't pick social outcasts to send a message, or even make it harder for them to make friends although Emma had Sophia had done that to me. They did it because social outcasts like me are more vulnerable. Bullies are weak and pathetic. They're just taking out their own issues on the weakest target around. I didn't know what caused Emma to change, or why Sophia was a psycho, but I officially stopped caring. I couldn't care less what they did to me, but you don't fuck with my mother.

So I tried to fight back. I kept a journal detailing everything they did to me. I went to teachers and asked them to step in and asked them why they did nothing. I made appointments with the principal, and tired to insult Emma back. I had been her best friend at one point too, so I also had info that I knew would hurt. But nothing worked.

The teachers did nothing, Emma and Sophia escalated their behavior, and mom died. I'm not sure but I was fairly sure that was when I triggered as I struggled to figure out a way to stop them. I refused to let those bitches win. I found a small camera, installed it in my glasses, and recorded everything I did. From my attempts to seek help, and everything they did to me. I got a lawyer and I gave the school an out. I wouldn't sue them if they expelled Emma and Sophia or made them attend counseling, and they had to bring in a bullying specialist to change their ways.

I had won, but I knew that there people all over the world that couldn't defend themselves. People who are weaker than their bullies, and need help. These gang banger motherfuckers deserved to be afraid to ride the bus, and to be scared to walk the streets at night. It wouldn't even be hard. I already had designs for the humanoid models that could blend in and harass the gangs. The ABB would be easy to fight because they always wore their colors. It should be relatively easy to get the Lusus to only attack those colors. I silently thanked the assholes in the back of the bus. They had caused all my doubts and fear to melt away.

We continued to ride for a few minutes, when the gang members pointed and yelled out the window. I turned and saw Slake streaking down the street clad in her signature motorcycle helmet and leathers.

Slake was one of the many rogues the city. She was dressed in dark motorcycle leathers, with a custom blue motorcycle helmet depicting water droplets. Her legs were moving like she was ice skating, surrounded by her breaker field that looked like suspended rain. She was a mover and long-range teleporter that ran a personal delivery company. She charged a thousand dollars just for a meeting, and it was rumored on PHO that she ran deliveries for Toybox and other tinkers.

I felt a brief pang of jealousy as she skated up the side of a building. It would be nice to have such a straightforward power. She got to speed through the city, while I had to go and steal copper for money.

Though once I had my equipment going I did have a few plans to make some money. I'm sure plenty of people would like custom built pets. A miniature elephant, or a panda dog had to sell very well. Still that was the future and it was time to focus on the present I thought to myself as the bus finally reached my stop. I walked slowly out of the bus and pointedly ignored the driver giving me a weird look.

I checked my watch again as I started to walk at a brisk pace. I was thankful I had continued my running routine to build up my stamina and distract my thoughts. Though walking through old lots was different than my treadmill.

I found myself relaxing as the buildings gave way to woods and there were less potential eyes on me. Though I could feel my legs starting to get tired. Perhaps I should increase my workout, but I was still worried about my schedule. Most of my free time was spent tinkering, and wasting another hour to exercise didn't seem worth it. I wondered how a Tinker like Armsmaster had time to work out while working on his equipment and being a hero. I'd buy any book he had on time management.

I slowed down to a crawl as I neared the back of the old hospital. I peered at it with my binoculars I had borrowed from dad. There was just enough moonlight to illuminate the whole building. No one was sure why this building had been abandoned, as it was still relatively new when it closed.

The whole area was supposed to start seeing major development, but that had completely stalled. There were rumors of the 9 and the Marquis fighting here, but that was probably just the same old PHO rumors.

I moved slowly toward the nearby tree by the fence. I had snuck a little stool I had found in a dumpster nearby on my previous scouting visit, and used it climb up on a branch. I awkwardly shimmied over the fence and jumped down with a thud. I glanced around, but nothing made a sound.

The building had a small maintenance door on the side that I was able to pick without too much trouble. The building was much cooler inside, though it was pitch black. I turned on my flashlight that I had put fresh batteries in preparation for this trip.

I walked slowly down the hall, carefully scanning the walls as I neared what had to have been a lobby. I finally found a map and spent a few minutes memorizing where I needed to go and how to get back.

I was headed for the Acute Assessment Unit, which should have most of the hospitals old medical machinery. I needed the parts to work on my brain scanner and re-programmer. I also made a note to myself to think of a better name for it then that.

The hospital was a little stuffy, but I enjoyed the solitude. It reminded me of my lab. Nothing but silence and muted light.

I walked for about five minutes before I found the right department. The door was locked, put didn't take too long to pick. I swept my flashlight over and smiled.

"Jackpot".

There were numerous old scanning machines, and plenty of old computer equipment I could salvage for parts. I unpacked my tools and got to work. I only took the most useful of stuff since I didn't have a lot of room, and I would have to carry it all back on a bus. I thought of punching a hole and sending the Lusus through the wall, but I was already running out of room, and I could always come back for the copper later.

I check my watch again. I was actually ahead of schedule for once, and I should be done early.

After some time unscrewing quite a few tiny screws, my gym bag was full, and I was having some trouble zipping up my backpack. That's when I heard the voices and froze.

It sounded like at least two people and they didn't sound that far away. I turned off my flashlight, and crawled to the door. I knew I should just take my stuff and run but sounds carried weird in the building. I'd have trouble moving quickly or quietly with all of my loot. It would be better to get a good idea of how many of them there are and where they were before I made a decision.

I crept silently through the door and tried to breathe as quietly as I could.

As I got closer I could hear voices arguing and laughing. They sounded like they had been drinking. As I heard a crash, I upgraded my assessment to drinking heavily. I crawled on my belly and stuck my head around the corner and immediately pulled it back in.

There were three of them facing away from me. They were drinking and passing around a bag of something. I wasn't sure but it looked like they were wearing colored tags, which meant the Teeth. They liked to display trophies.

I cursed my rotten luck. What the hell were they doing here? Whatever the reason, things were too dangerous to stay. The Teeth might not be very active with the Butcher gone, but I knew plenty of nasty scenarios that could play out if they found out I was here.

I ran the odds in my head as I walked quickly away. There were only three of them, and they were not in the best mental state. I should have enough time to gather my stuff and get away as long as I was quiet and quick. I can salvage this.

Of course that was when I turned the corner and ran right into another one. I couldn't see too much of his face in the dark, but he stepped back in surprise.

"There's somebody here", he shouted as he rushed toward me. I tried to move but he was too fast as he pushed me against the wall. He looked like he was about to say something, but I didn't give him the chance as I let out a loud whistle. The Lusus stirred and came alive.

He didn't have a flashlight, which was probably why he didn't react immediately as the Lusus put their heads out my coat. The ones on my arms were quick enough to bite him a few times, but the ones around my waist couldn't get out in time.

He fell back and screamed clutching at his arms where they had bit him and I kicked him as hard as I could between his legs, which caused him to fall on his back. He cried out and started to rise but his head was the perfect height to kick again.

He jolted back to the floor and didn't get up. Based off his size and seeming weight, the venom should already be having an effect paralyzing him. I could already hear his buddies coming. Should I try to run or confront them?

I quickly weighed my options and decided to try and scare them.

Most people when confronted with a cape would run away especially with someone whose power was unknown. I could run, but they knew I was here and there was no way I could lug my stuff and remain hidden with them looking for me. If I could scare them, they might just run away and let me take what I needed

I unzipped my jacket and gently placed a Lusus around my head. Then had the others crawl around me as I whistled a different note and the Lusus began to rattle.

The flashlight was a little blinding so I couldn't get a good look at them, but I must have made quite a sight as they backed away. I imagined what I looked like. An eerily perfect male face, with six oversized green snakes rattling at them as they coiled around me.

"LEAVE" I said as loudly as I could to be heard over the rattling. Note to self, if I get away make sure to work on my cape voice.

"Cape," one of them shouted. One of them turned and ran immediately, but the other two advanced as I saw one of them start to pull something out his pocket.

 _Shit_ , I threw one of the Lusus at him, and ran as fast as I could.

I could hear the guy with the gun jump back panicked, and started firing at the Lusus. I wasn't prepared for how loud the gun was, but I didn't look back.

Shit, shit, shit. I frantically pulled out my sprayer and sprayed the ground as I ran. Then I dropped off two of the Lusus around the corner and kept running.

I made it around another corner when I heard cursing and the gun firing again. I wasn't' sure if the gunman could hit a small, fast Lusus like the SX-2 while inebriated, but considering my luck so far I didn't want to bet on it.

I stopped to take a breath and tried to think of plan. I could hear yelling and it sounded like one of them was throwing chairs at the other two Lusus. Hopefully they might decide to leave, but I needed a plan.

I quickly went through a nearby double door, propped one open, and gently wrapped a Lusus around the handle on the other side of the closed door. I also placed another on top of the door that was open. I quickly sprayed the area, and walked at a brisk pace.

I figured I should double back, and be quiet. The hospital was a maze in the dark, and the Lusus could attack in the dark. I was breathing hard, but I tried to slow down and listen.

Several minutes went by before I heard slow walking. Sounded like it was just one person, but I couldn't be sure from where I was. I stayed still and wrapped the Lusus around my hand.

I heard the door open and a scream, as the door was wretched back closed. I could hear the footsteps running away before there was curse and horrible screaming. Whoever it was screamed for almost a minute before he finally shut up.

I waited two more minutes before I decided to go and investigate from the back. I sprayed myself so that the Lusus would follow me, and pulled out the little paper balls I had filled with the attack pheromone.

I glanced down the hallway, and saw a body lying next to a dropped flashlight. I walked cautiously as the Lusus followed at my feet. I gently prodded the big guy with the my foot but he didn't move.

I hope he wasn't dead. I needed both hands to turn the body over, and reveal an older, shirtless, man with a weird face tattoo. He wasn't moving and the venom had worked as intended, and I could hear his weak breathing. His pulse was a little weak though. I saw his eyes track me in fear while I searched his pockets. A gun, one extra clip, a bag of I what I assume is meth, and a wallet with two hundred dollars in cash.

"Blink twice if you have any known allergies and once for no".

The man, who smelled like he hadn't shower in a year, quickly blinked once. Okay he should be fine. I made another mental note to work on a version of venom that will incapacitate someone and still let them talk.

That leaves two more to check, and a third possibly still around. I examined the gun, and was careful to point it away from me. I didn't know a lot about guns, but I think the safety was off. I didn't turn on my flashlight as I walked slowly down the hall. I could hear the guy on the ground rapidly have hushed breathing as the Lusus crawled over him after me.

Strange I thought. Why am I so calm? I was nervous all night about taking the bus, but not when guns are going off? Note to self-Study research on parahuman resilience and mental states.

I was cautious as I peered around another corner but I saw another unmoving body and several hastily thrown chairs. This guy had actually managed to hit one of the Lusus with a bullet, but the other one had gotten close enough to bite him. Though it seems like he had stomped it to death before the paralysis took effect. I quickly picked up the dead Lusus, and went over the dropped man.

Breathing and pulse was okay, though he was out cold. Seems he fainted. I was wary as I went to man I had kicked, but no one else showed up.

The other two members netted me some empty wallets and some keys, which I quickly took. I weighed my options and hurried back to my bags. There was no sign of the fourth guy, but he could be on his way with help. I didn't have a phone to call the cops, so I decided to leave the Teeth members there. Someone might have heard the gunshots and the screaming.

Hopefully the cops or the heroes were on their way. The paralysis should wear off and they would be all right in few hours. I quickly ran back and starting taking all of my salvage and made my way back.

I carefully looked out through the door, and didn't see anyone. But I did discover a truck that the teeth had apparently come in. It looked old but useable. I glanced quickly around, and decided to take it. I wouldn't get any weird looks on the bus, and I could use it in the future. I hauled my stuff to the bed of the truck, and put the Lusus under my coat again. I sighed in relief as the truck started.

I was very gentle with the accelerator as I drove to the open front gate, and drove slowly back to town trying to remember Dad's few lessons. I kept to the side streets and made sure to stop at every stop sign.

I felt a little safer as I neared my lab. Though I was still shocked at how calm I was. I should never have investigated the noise, and instead should have left immediately. Still I did get a car out of it.

I decided to drive and park the truck near the house so I could take it back to the lab later. It would save me from having to take the bus. The teeth might be looking for it, but I would only drive late at night, and I would work on making it unrecognizable.

So I was down three SX Lusus, but I had gained the parts I needed and got a car. But things had been too dangerous. I promised myself that I wouldn't take any more stupid risks. I need to be careful and build things up. When I'm done, the ABB and the Teeth will be the ones feeling wary in the dark.

Authors Note: Decided to move my story from spacebattles. Amateur author who is just starting out. This story has been planned for a while, and its purpose is to try and write something entertaining while keeping to a writing schedule of a week or two to improve my writing. The first two chapters are the original draft and a little slow. But things will pick up in chapter 3 when Taylor does something a little creative and dangerous and she make her proper debut in chapter five. Hope at least a few people are entertained.


	2. 1-2

Seed 1-2

Well so much for that job. I crossed it off of my list and kept walking down the boardwalk. How could I get experience if every entry-level position required experience? Just as well, I don't think that uniform would have been very flattering on my figure. Still I was feeling a bit dejected. Another place turned me down because I was only fifteen. I had applied to several places and they all hadn't panned out for one reason or another.

If I was being honest, it didn't really matter anyway. Not a single one of the jobs I had applied to paid anymore near enough to meet my needs. I needed substantially more than minimum wage to buy what I needed to expand and experiment. The hospital had paid a decent wage, but Dad had put his foot down about me staying out so late, and that was the time they really needed someone to watch patients. Dad had pressured me to quit, and I reluctantly agreed since I really wasn't learning much anyway. Tutoring was nice, but it didn't give me that many hours. I had thought of a scheme of trying to clone and give out blood, but I had given up after realizing that hospitals would pick up some weird observations on it. I could forget about using my own blood after my recent upgrades.

My idea for collecting scrap and copper had some unfortunate complications. Dad had laughed himself silly at all the newspapers with the headlines of monkey sightings. The monkey Lusus had seemed like a good idea at the time. I had made them nocturnal and given them instincts to hide and avoid people. I programmed them to gather old bottles and cans to turn in for change. I'd be cleaning up the streets and making some extra cash on the side. But they had worked a little too well.

They had started stealing bottles and cans from people's homes and stores causing people to think something weird was going on. My attempts to tweak their behavior had backfired. They had started overturning trashcans to get cans, and they had started taking more chances causing people to catch glimpses of them. Fuzzy photographs and reports of them snatching bottles out of peoples hands pushed the rumors of escaped monkeys in Brockton Bay into accepted fact.

I had reluctantly recycled them, as they were bringing in too much attention. I remembered the PHO thread for advice for new Tinkers, and its number one suggestion of being as paranoid as possible about people tracing your activities to you. While the chances of someone putting together the sighting of a snake master attacking some Teeth and weird monkeys showing up were very small, it was better to be safe than sorry. Just as well since I couldn't really afford to feed them anymore anyway. I had already spent almost all of the profits from that little idea.

I stopped for a bit and admired the sun reflecting off the ocean. I felt my skin tingle as I basked in the rays and felt energized. At least my new skin was working. I would need to stop by the lab to run a few tests, but my internal sensors didn't show any abnormalities in my body when I looked them up on my phone.

With nothing better to do I mostly wandered the Lords Market. I enjoyed looking at all the stuff people had to sell since I had come across some great deals before. I ended up buying a great white tooth necklace since it was so cheap. I could drill it open and get a great DNA sample. After wandering out for an hour, I decided to call it a day and go back to the lab. I had a few things to check, and I might as well finish replacing the rest of the skin on my legs. Being in the pool was also pretty relaxing and I was a little stressed at the moment.

I walked with a brisk pace to the parking lot and found my truck. I had spent quite a bit of time fixing it up, and it was almost unrecognizable to when I had taken it from the Teeth. The single Lusus I had on me stirred as I put my seatbelt on, and I patted it affectionately through my shirt. I made sure to check my mirrors as I backed up and drove out of the parking lot. I was very careful to be the safest driver possible so I didn't bring attention to myself. I had quickly discovered that you didn't actually need a license to drive in the United States. All you had to do was stay off the main roads, drive carefully, and no one looked twice. It made the commute to the lab much easier with a car.

My lab was in the dead part of town, north of the docks. There wasn't much if any construction here, and a lot of crumbling infrastructure compared to the nicer part of town in the south part of the city. Quite a few buildings were abandoned, and I didn't have to worry too much about people. I was technically in Teeth territory, but they were never active this early in the morning, and I felt safe enough. Especially since there was a large PHO thread about them attacking Accord. They'd pull all their forces to wait for the inevitable counterattack to reclaim territory from the Ambassadors.

I had discovered the building when I had been hunting for some mechanical parts for some robotic arms in a nearby factory. I had discovered an old basement that seemed to predate the building that connected to the sewers and it had been the perfect size for my lab. With a little work I had made the door hidden, and placed the two cameras I had made dealing with Emma in the factory itself and at the door. I carefully got out and parked the car into a nearby ally and pulled the camouflaged tarp over it.

I checked the camera fee with my phone to make sure no one was nearby and then whistled. Nothing happened for a while before I heard a scraping, and the wall started to open up toward me. I still felt a small thrill every time the wall opened. Who didn't want a secret door to your own hidden lab?

I waited patiently for the SX-18 to crawl back into his hidey-hole, and then moved through the open passage at a light job. I had spent time supplanting it's programming, but the SX-18 was still prone to releasing the pulley and closing the wall almost immediately after it was opened. I could have wiped the mind and started over again, but I wanted to study its brain since there was a possibility of managing to grow it even bigger.

The SX-18 had been the culmination of all my research on the SX model and my artificial growth experiments. It was more of a worm than a snake, about sixteen feet long and as high as my waist. It was a dark brown color, looking almost like a tree root when its mouth wasn't open. It had taken weeks of careful managing of its body but I managed to grow it far larger than its base forms had started. I wanted to see how much further I could get it too grow, but the research wasn't vital enough to justify spending my limited budge on it.

The walk into my lab was always a little claustrophobic and I had to duck a bit when I walked down the tunnel. I walked carefully in the dark with my hand on the wall, as I traced the path into my lab. I had memorized the route and a few obstacles I had placed to make it more treacherous. Though I was a little annoyed that there wasn't any rattling. I whistled as loud as I could and I was reward with several previous SX models starting to rattle. They were supposed to rattle if they heard anyone move, but I hadn't quite got the programming right. The next version of the small model should be able to function properly but it wasn't enough of an issue to recycle them and create an entire new line.

I hugged the left wall to avoid the pit, and held my arm out until I finally felt the door. I braced myself and pushed it open with a shove. I could feel the empty space and clapped my hands twice and the lab lights turned on.

My lab was about as big as the school gym at Winslow had been. It wasn't much too look at it, but it was mine. I had arranged my equipment in a circle around the main tank in the center of the room. I had tried my best to keep things organized but there was a hodgepodge of old equipment and experiments scattered around. There was uneven lighting since I had scavenged whatever I could fine. Old Christmas lights, old searchlights, my custom built UV lamps, and desk lamps all connected to my battery bank showed floor and walls made of muted stone. The lab was filled with the satisfying smell of pine needles everywhere. That meant the newest composition of biofuel wasn't mixing like it should. The last batch hadn't mixed right and the smell had been so putrid, I had thrown it out instead of using it.

I took off my coat as it was a little warm and started to make my rounds. I carefully checked the generator, and made sure the gas tank was full before I turned it on. The generator had been my very first purchase for the lab, and I had gotten a great deal from the market since it had been broken when I bought it. It hadn't taken too long to fix up, and easily recharged my battery bank that was made up of upgraded car batteries. While it was a bit of fuel hog, that had stopped being a problem now I that I could make my own gas.

I picked up a nearby canister and slowly started spraying another dose of pheromones, while occasionally stepping over a few stray SX Lusus. I wanted them free to protect the lab, but I didn't want them running around everywhere and leading people to it. After I was satisfied, I moved to the DNA extractor and viewed my latest acquisition under the microscope. I took a nearby hammer and unceremoniously smashed it. Then I sprayed a special solution and wiped the inside with a q-tip. I rubbed it on a slide, and was rewarded with some usable Great White DNA. I scanned it to the computer, and put the sample in my fridge with the others. The market had been a gold mine for usable samples. I had bought old bear claws, a wolf skull, and an actual monkey's paw.

I sat down and pulled out a coke from my mini fridge while I waited for my computer to boot up. I admired Panacea's autograph hanging on the front as I drank. Panacea had been the one spot of good luck from working at the hospital. I should really write her a letter of thanks or bake her a pie or something. She had given me so many great ideas just from witnessing her work with her power. I hoped we could work together once I was a hero. She could make my work infinitely easier, and ours powers had great synergy.

Her ability to be able to tell with a touch every single thing about a living organism from its history to its projected future, had given me some ideas for biological sensors pre built into my Lusus. The sensors would be connected to a computer program that built a sophisticated model of them that I could use to carefully scan, track, and predict changes to the Lusus as I made adjustments to their genes. It saved me great time in pruning the seed growths, and helped to streamline my design work. They had proven so useful I had installed a few for myself to continually monitor my health and brain activity.

But the real inspiration had been when I saw her use a pig for biological material to grow extra mass for a patient. That had been eye opening, and I practically shook from envy. The things I could do with that power. Seeing her breaking apart a pig had given me a great idea for programmable biological matter. The possibilities for the medical field and my own work were huge. I envisioned putting a solution into a cut or wound, and watch it scan and grow into what was missing. Or being able to instantly create a custom built Lusus. I envisioned making a solution made from breaking down seeds and a few other ingredients into biological ooze, and teaching it how to become whatever I wanted.

Of course I had very quickly run into problems with resources. To make even the smallest amount of such a solution would take a truly ridiculous number of seeds. To achieve the quality necessary would also require a far more pure and advanced seed than what I had now. I didn't have anywhere near the tools to even try and make it. Even if I made them though, I still needed a way to mass-produce them. Cloning such a seed would degrade it too much for my purposes. That meant that it would require very large amounts of expensive materials.

Despite that I had started experimenting and the research had been very fruitful when I decided to combine it with my growth and artificial meat projects by creating what I called project G. It's tank took up a entire corner of lab, and I pulled up its internal sensors to make sure there wasn't anything requiring my attention. Project G was essentially a giant, living, growing, blob of meat. I had modeled it after simple cells and used a fungal base crossed with the simplest organisms I could find.

Project G had been my greatest work so far, and a solution to several of my problems. It acted as my garbage disposal, was the main ingredient in my bio fuel, and I could even use it as a living base for the creation of my Lusus. No more wondering if I could bring myself to capture, care for, and then murder animals to make my Lusus. Portions of project G were alive enough to use as a base for my Lusus, and it regrew as I fed it my failures. Despite my happiness at Project G, the euphoria had proven short lived, as I hadn't made anything that great since then. My most recent crowning achievement had been making an injector that didn't require needles by going right through the skin.

The bug research had proven to be a dead end. To save money and try a few things on a smaller scale I had started experimenting with creating bug hybrids. There were a huge variety of bugs, with a vast amount of different abilities that could prove useful in larger Lusus models. But I couldn't get them to grow big enough to be useful. They just weren't built for it thanks to their exoskeletons and lack of lungs. I had tried to make a model that could theoretically survive if was much bigger but had failure after failure. While it opened up a few new interesting lines of research, the project hadn't produced any real usable results.

Then there was the brain programming failures. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't ignore the fact that my control of the Lusus wasn't that great. I could use pheromones to instruct them to be attracted or repelled and thus herd them toward something. I could also cause them to go wild and attack, but that's when I ran into trouble. Their brains just weren't able to take that much information and there was a limit to what I could teach them. While I had some success in figuring out a way to reprogram them with new instructions, I hadn't been able to improve their cognitive abilities to carry out even simple instructions.

Well that wasn't technically true. I could theoretically make them sentient, but the ethical issues were too great. Besides, I was way too young to be a mother. As it was, the Lusus were really only good for guarding something. Having them out in the open was too dangerous for civilians as they would be unable to differentiate between friend or foe. So I wouldn't be using them to be a hero anytime soon. I needed something I could more definitely control and that would not hurt civilians under any circumstances.

That was where the exoskeleton idea had come in. I had seen some of the richer senior citizens use custom built exoskeletons to make moving around easier at the hospital. I could make a humanoid Lusus, connect it to a very advanced exoskeleton, and program the exoskeleton to follow more complicated directions. At least that was the theory. Connecting my Lusus was a little outside my tinker specialization, and I wasn't sure if I could do it or not. I'd need to experiment and take if from there.

But of course the main issue, as always, was money. To build an exoskeleton from scratch would cost a pretty penny, and I was already at a breaking point with funds. Even finding two jobs, in addition to my allowance would only give me just enough to maintain the bare minimum of upkeep and repair on my equipment. Saving to build new equipment and start building a exoskeleton prototype was unbearably slow. I was at my wits end trying to figure out a way to make more money. "Maybe I will think of something in the tank," I thought as I stripped down to my underwear.

There had been one benefit to running into a roadblock in my Lusus research. In my quest to find something to do without wasting too much of my funds on growing Lusus, I had stumbled on a great new line of research and experimentation. Namely studying my own body and brain. I had started by getting a full diagnostic of my entire body, scanning anything and everything. I gave myself the works getting a full genetic makeup, brain scans, and complete computer model on my body. Then I had spent weeks working on ways to improve myself and had come up with a few ideas.

First I had made some custom gene therapies to improve my health based off a few extraordinary but completely human research subjects from other medical studies. My white and red blood count was now much higher after seeing a few studies on gold winning Olympic athletes. I had seen studies of children regrowing fingertips and did some great work on improving my body's natural regenerative abilities. By far the best idea had been changing my genes so I only required few hours of sleep a night. That had been a godsend since I had started to stay out all the time, since my first human sized Lusus was a perfect replica of me and took my place every night in my bed.

I greatly enjoyed improving my own body, and I hadn't had so much fun in a long time. Trying to figure out ways to push things farther and given me an idea on trying to copy some of the abilities of my Lusus. All of my Lusus models required far less food and rest since they were able to intake some of their energy requirement from UV radiation. I made a few clones and tried different methods of making it work in regular human body. The gene work took awhile, but I managed to find something that worked without side effects. I used my first generation and most easily made seeds to make a custom skin that allow me to take some energy from being out in the sun. It took a little while to make it my natural skin color instead of green, but I was largely ready to replace my skin.

Modern medical science already had biological 3d printers and a method to regrow skin for burn victims. My skin gun hadn't taken too long to create and was as good or better than what others had. I had built two robotic arms with parts from the nearby factory to do the surgery more safely than my own hands could. The finished version of my skin was ready to graft on and replace my old one. I already had an effective painkiller without side effects, and my new skin was easily able to repair any damage so no one would be able to tell. Once the full process was complete, I would require less food, even less sleep, and skin blemishes would be a thing of the past. I had already completed the procedure with one of my clones and no issues had arisen.

I had come to enjoy lying down in the tank while the arms did the surgery. It was relaxing feeling my body go numb, reading up on PHO, and knowing my work was helping me. I carefully lay down on my back, gave myself an injection, pulled over the computer, and activated the arms. They would be finishing up my legs today. They made a nice little whirring sound as they got to work.

I closed my eyes and listened to the sound of the machines.

 _Just relax._

Try to think Taylor. What can you do that is worth money? Well my upgrades work, and I'm sure people will pay for it. But it is very intensive, and takes while. Not to mention keeping myself a secret is supposed to be priority until I can properly defend myself. A tinker is too juicy a target for the gangs to not to a chance at recruiting. But no matter how much I wrack my brain, I can't think of anything. Wish I could swap my brain for a better one.

That's when it comes to me. I actually can replace a brain.

I can grow replacement organs!

People should still pay good money for replacement organs. With a little work, I can make even better versions. I pull my computer over and start to research all that I can.

While 3d printing of organs had saved a large number of lives, it was very expensive. Not too many hospitals or places had access to such tech, and usually only the people on the top of the waiting list got to use it. Then there is the large tax break the government gave for organ donors in response to the Endbringer attacks. While not as many people became organ donors as I pictured, there was still a much larger pool of organ donors.

Despite all of that, there was still a waiting list. While is was much shorter than it used to be, there were still plenty of people that died waiting for one to show up. Mostly the people at the bottom of the list who were older, had other conditions that complicated things, or didn't take care of their bodies. So there was a ready-made market for my work.

I do the figures in my head. Resources are stretched, but with some minimal investment I can build a simple organ farm. While I have to grow a full clone to get a decent organ, eventually I might be able to just grow the organ itself after some more research into the next generation of seeds. Surely the people on the list would donate if meant they were at the top of my waiting list, right?

I'd do things properly. A sliding pay scale so people could pay what they could afford. Still there was something like ten thousand people on the list right now. Just using the bottom third added up to few thousand organs. With the right equipment I could grow lets say three clones at once, then harvest the organs, and have project G recycle everything else. With the right resources I could grow three to six clones in a day. Though even that was pushing it, as I had to carefully monitor things by myself.

Setting up a business might be difficult. I wasn't sure how things worked, and even a cursory search on rogues showed that they got a bad deal. I really didn't want to reveal my identity. I loved having the freedom to do what I wanted and not having to worry about PRT regulations. Not to mention I had read the Tinker horror stories on PHO. Be paranoid and trust no one. Plenty of rogues were killed, ended up working for the Elite, or were forced to join a gang. I would wait to contact the PRT until I knew more and I hired a lawyer for his time. I knew my specialty would not be liked by the PRT, but it could save a lot of lives after all.

But first I will need results, and proof that what I can do is safe. If I contact the people on the waiting list, tell them what I can do, ask for a sample, and give them an organ perfectly suited to their body, I can make some money to set up a true operation. Performing the surgery shouldn't be too difficult but I wanted to keep interaction between us to the minimum. I'm sure they could find someone to perform the surgery without me. There were plenty of doctors in the world after all.

Okay, I have a plan. The next step will be finding who is actually on the waiting list and that could be an issue. I already know from trying to get access to medical studies that medical records have a crazy amount of security. You can use them to identify parahumans so a lot of stuff had encryption made by Dragon. But there should still be plenty of people who have access to that list.

Physical records should also still exist and be in filing cabinets somewhere. I just have to find out how to access them. I had heard of information brokers on PHO who bought and sold information, maybe I could buy the waiting list off of them.

I quickly went back to PHO and started looking up people who bought or sold information. There was plenty of stuff on Thinkers who acted that way, but nothing much for how to contact them. I spent a few hours looking over PHO, while soaking my legs in a solution, until I found something that looked promising.

There was a thread buried deep that described people who buy and sell information. Most of the people involved seemed fake, or part of some type of scam. But reading through it showed one name that most accepted as being genuine. A user with a handle of TrueAristotle would hear a question, then ignore it or private message the person who asked it. Those who had been private messaged swore he was the real deal and made some money or gotten information from him.

He seemed useful, but I had my doubts. Weighting the pros and cons in my mind I decided to message him. What could it hurt? I made a new username with a new email, and used it to send him a message.

GreenHands- Hello, I am not sure if you are real or not but there are plenty of people who state you really can get them information. So I thought I would check and see if you can give me some information.

While I waited for a reply, I got up and started drying myself off with a towel. My legs were itchy as the nerves started regrowing, and wanted to scan them to make sure there were no abnormalities. After about twenty minutes, I check back and there was a private message.

TrueAristotle- I have decided your question will be worth my time. I say the same thing to you that I tell everyone. Use this email service with a throwaway account and email me at this email. They do not keep records, and it is much more private that PHO. Email me your question, and I will give you a figure for that information. What do you want to know?

This seemed a little too easy, but there was no way for them to know who I was or track me. I had made the computer personally with the individual parts bought with cash, and I was using the Brockton Bay free Internet. It could save me a considerable amount of time and effort to find it on my own, but I would be suspicious of someone trying to find out that information. Still nothing ventured nothing gained. I set up an account and asked.

To: ARI532u1 .com

From: GreenHands .com  
Subject: Question

 _Hello, can you get me the complete and current organ donor waiting list?  
_  
I noticed right away that these emails didn't show a time and date when the message was sent. He responded almost immediately.

From: ARI532u1 .com

To: GreenHands .com  
Subject: Answer and question

 _The cost for that information is 3, 168 dollars and 23 cents. Or you can sell me why you want this information and I will buy it for 12,422 dollars while giving you the information for free. To show you I am genuine I will pay you a portion right now. Send me an address and I will mail it in cash, or I can write a check. I have also used credit gift cards that you can use online and are transferred by email. If you do not have an email or address you trust, name a time and place in a city of your choice, and I will have a package waiting for you at the location. If you do not have a bank account, I can make arrangements for you to join a discrete bank service._

That was far quicker and more thorough than I was expecting. He just offered me twelve thousand dollars just for an answer? I was both excited and even more suspicious. He certainly gave the impression of being a thinker. Did he actually know what questions were worth his attention ahead of time? I could really use that money and I already had a plan to pick it up safely.

One of my previous moneymaking ideas had involved copying Slake and making a delivery company with messenger hawks that could pick up and drop off packages. I had never done it mostly because I didn't want people to guess my specialty and there was a limit to how many locations I could program into a hawk's brain and not lose the ability to fly. But I should easily be able to create a few, and program them to pick up a package from a certain spot. Then have them drop off the organs the same way. I wouldn't be anywhere near whoever dropped it off. I could even make it so they looked exactly like regular hawks. But how to answer in a way to protect what I can do? In case he was a thinker I decided to say a half-truth.

To: ARI532u1 .com

From: GreenHands .com

 _I am a parahuman who can grow parts of the body out of myself to strength my natural abilities. I wish to make some money by selling grown organs as rogue to people at the bottom of the donor list. But before I go into business, I need a large amount of start up money. I plan to message a few people on the list, and offer to sell them a compatible organ._

He or she didn't respond right away. I refreshed over and over, but there was nothing. I was just about to go distract myself when I got another email.

From: ARI532u1 .com

To: GreenHands .com

 _Here is the updated_ _list._ _It will change as time goes on. I have also made you a list of both the most desperate and wealthy on this_ _list_ _. If you wish for this to be the end of our dealings, just list a place to drop off the money and in what form._

If you wish, I can make contact with the people you choose on the list and arrange the transaction with whatever instructions you give for a fee of 10%.  
Here is some more information that I have found very useful for new parahumans in case you want to continue to do business down the line. If you are interested, send me another email, and I will offer a price.

 _The unwritten rules about being a parahuman._

 _Parahuman law explanations._

 _Advice and information on useful people to know for parahumans._

 _Information on specific parahumans and people that isn't well known._

 _If you ask a question and I don't know it, I can point you to somebody who might be able to help._

For just a moment I am stunned. It had barely taken them ten minutes to give me what I wanted to know. He had given me a huge list of names and addresses. As well as three specific people who were especially wealthy and sick. A simple search on their names showed that. They were waiting for a new heart, liver, and kidney. My money troubles could be over.

It would make things easier, and I could ask for half of the money up front to make sure he didn't try to cheat me. But this all seemed too easy and good to be true. Few thing usually were. But I should be safe and I can use the Lusus to pick up the money and drop off the organs. But how to ensure it is safe? Maybe I can use Slake as the courier. Her power is distinctive and she wouldn't have any reason to try something. She had made a big show on her website of purchasing a lie detector from kid win and asking clients if what she delivered was a weapon, or illegal. I made my decision.

To: ARI532u1 .com

From: GreenHands .com

I will take you up on your service. Contact the three you have picked and offer it for what they would be worth to anyone else. I require a sample of their blood to grow what I need. I want the blood and half of the money to be dropped off by Slake in a plain brown package. Have her drop off the blood and money here at noon and inform her to not be alarmed when a hawk picks it up. I will drop off the organs in the same way in two days at the same spot. What is the estimated worth of a new heart, liver, and kidney?

He again sent me a reply almost immediately, and didn't ask further questions.

From: ARI532u1 .com

To: GreenHands .com

 _Depends on if you are talking black market or legal prices. Legal is worth more. Current black market prices, and what I will quote to the three chosen are as follows._

 _60,000 for the heart._

 _80,000 for the liver._

 _200,000 for the kidney._

 _Combined it totals 340,000. Those three can afford it, and I can sell them some information on a doctor who can do the surgeries discreetly._

 _Give me two days to make the arrangements with the three I mentioned. The blood and money will be dropped off by Slake there in one week, and I will have her pick up the organs in two days. I have a suggestion for a bank that will handle your money with no questions asked and is very profitable with your money. The man who runs it is called the Number Man, and he can set up an easy to use account for you. You can contact him_ _here._ _It was a pleasure doing business with you._

 _Feel free to email this account in the future if you have some information you wish to buy or sell._

I'm a little excited as I wait for the Lusus to come back. Aristotle sent me an email in two days confirming the deal and I had a hidden camera that saw Slake arrive and wait. I sent out all three new hawk Lusus to make sure they can carry the package safely. All the materials were ready to make the clones and harvest the organs.

I still couldn't believe it. Three hundred and forty thousand dollars made in less than a week! I practically drooled at the possibilities this could open up. A new lab with all the equipment and materials I wanted. It might take a while but I now had all the time in the world to make a Lusus that could more easily be controlled. I'd pay a lawyer for their time, and see how I could set things up for my business. Even if it didn't work out, with the list and Aristotle's help I could make plenty of money without the PRT knowing what I could do and still help people.

That's when I hear the strained flapping and see all three Lusus lugging a large package through the roof of the building. They set it down gently on the cart and I whistle for the 18 to drag it to the lab. I feel a thrill at the sight of so much cash, but I force myself to check every inch for bugs or tracking devices. I want to make sure no one is trying to double cross or kidnap me. Then I do the same with the blood vials that are wrapped carefully in bubble tape. Everything checks out, and I immediately take the blood and head to the tubes. For once things are looking up.


	3. 1-3

Seed 1-3

Things had been going so well. I had started taking on more clients with Aristotle's help and I had several million in the Number Man's account. I could use him or Slake to deliver parts I needed discreetly, and my lab had improved dramatically. I had multiple glass cases for Lusus, could afford to build tools I never would have dared to even of dream of affording, and had numerous interesting animal samples. I had it all planned out. I would devote all my time until I could create a Lusus that would let be a hero, earn a trustworthy reputation from the heroes, and fully set up a business with dad in on it.

But it had all gone wrong.

The Exoskeleton project had been a complete dead end. I thought that my power would let me fill in the blanks, but it was just too far out of my specialization. I could grow the bodies just fine, but I just couldn't connect them to the machine right. Even worse was the programming that had ended up being required was simply beyond my understanding. My prototypes were full of glitches and could barely move. They were far from a perfect police force capable of working with civilians in the city.

Then my depression had started to act up. I had thought I was doing fine, but then I started to get moments where I just become full of panic and anxiety while doing nothing. I was so forgetful, and it was just impossible to concentrate on my work. It reminded me back Sophia and Emma and all my old doubts had started to come back. What if I can never be a hero? I had so many plans and ideas for Lusus, but I couldn't use them. They were just too unsafe to use. I couldn't be sure they wouldn't attack an innocent, kill someone, or destroy property.

Things had gotten even worse when I saw a mugging on one of the new cameras I had installed around the building. Three men had cornered another and beaten him to a pulp. He had literally been on the floor for hours before I saw him gradually get up and stagger away. I couldn't even give the footage to the police because it had been too dark to get a good look at their faces. What kind of hero couldn't save someone in trouble right outside her own door?

The gangs had started fighting again. We were entering another hot period according to PHO. The Empire had led a massive attack against Coil and Lung to take territory. Lung had taken them head on and the fighting had been really bad the last week. Quire a few deaths and casualties among gang members, and a large fire that had spread to a few buildings before they managed to put it out. Civilian casualties were mercifully light, except for a poor driver who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Coil had led a counterattack yesterday with Accord targeting several of the Empire's parahumans and manage to retake most of downtown. Accord had a few new parahumans take part in the attack. It seemed he was starting to rebuild his ranks before the Butcher came back. Lung pretty much owned the docks at this point, and Accord had made great gains against the Teeth with the Butcher gone. But The Elite had kicked her out of Saint Louis and she usually went back to cities that the Teeth had lost territory in to take it back and get revenge. While she wasn't as bad as the last Butcher, the Teeth always got much more nasty when she was back in town.

The PRT was doing what it could. They had made a statement about sending two new heroes and a new wards member in response to the fighting. Though the response on PHO had been very muted. There were rumors going around that we were getting two heroes who no one else wanted due to controversy, and most were pessimistic that it was going to change anything. Unless Alexandria herself moved here, I don't really see anything changing too much. The people in the docks aren't going to notice that we have a few more heroes.

To make matters worse, Dad was going through a rough time at work. I barely saw him anymore. The governor was making good on his threat to pass a bill to strip some of the Union's bargaining power. There was talk of a strike and closing down the docks. Dad was out almost all day, and he told me that he had to make a trip to the capitol soon. But he was waiting until things cooled down at home first since he wasn't comfortable leaving me alone for a week.

I tried to avoid sleeping at all now since I was starting to have nightmares all the time. Despite my modifications, my body still required at least some rest. I was really starting to feel the effects of my lack of sleep. I imagined myself back at school being tormented by Emma, or seeing my mom wasting away as dad struggled with deciding to pull the plug before all our savings were gone.

It had been almost a week, but I hadn't done a single bit of Tinkering. I just had no idea what to do anymore. All I had done today was clean up my Lusus's waste for recycling. I was just sitting at my workbench feeling stiff and awkward.

I couldn't help but think that this was it. In the end I couldn't be a hero. The extra money I got with my organ farm could be used to help people by donating to good causes, but I couldn't do a thing about the gangs.

I cursed my power. Why couldn't I have gotten something more straightforward? Something like Glory Girl who just had to put on a costume and go help people? Instead I got a power that let me create amazing creatures that were simply too dangerous to use.

I wish I had another power.

" _Keep dreaming Taylor_ ," I thought to myself. Its not like you can just give yourself another power.

That's when I got the idea. It just sort of came to me as I put my head down on the workbench. I suddenly shot up with my eyes wide. Moments of inspiration, hope, fear, and panic flashed in my mind at all once. My mind raced with possibilities.

It couldn't be that simple could it? I ran to my computer startling a few Lusus on the ground. I sat down, opened up PHO, and started researching known capes.

It isn't like I hadn't thought of cloning parahumans before. I thought of doing it roughly an hour after figuring out my specialty, but I quickly discarded the idea. It was obvious that any clones I made of parahumans wouldn't be able to use their powers without being sentient. That was the main reason people believed that humans triggered and nothing else did. I thought of it like a computer with parahumans being made up of hardware and software. Without an operating system or software, a computer was just a hunk of junk.

I had still tried to figure out a way to get parahuman DNA though. There were numerous potential applications just from cloning parahuman bodies. A brute's skin grafted to a Lusus, Aegis redundant biology could give me clues on making my creations harder to put down, or Panacea's inability to get sick helping me to figure out a way to cure a disease.

The problem was that there was no easy source of parahuman DNA. Finding or buying old equipment or costumes might net me a lucky find of a stray hair or something similar. But those were important collector items, and most weren't for sale. I couldn't exactly go to a parahuman's home and root thought their stuff since everyone's identities were kept secret. Then I thought of wearing a sharp glove and accidently cutting a hero's skin when I shook hands with them at a public appearance. But that didn't exactly scream hero behavior, and I wanted the PRT to trust me since my power was so scary.

The only idea I could see worth looking into was taking DNA from dead parahumans, but that had its own issues beyond the obvious ethical ones. Many dead parahuman's identities were kept secret, villains were often cremated if no one claimed their bodies, and relatives of infamous villains with known identities often had secret funeral arrangements to keep things private.

I'm sure I could have found the graves of some parahumans without too much trouble. Not everyone chose to go around with mask. Then there were those whose identities were found out after they died or they had stupidly let others find out. Many of the fallen during Endbringer fights made arrangements to let everyone know who they really were after they died. But I just didn't have a good enough reason to go grave robbing. The negatives outweighed any potential positives.

" _Until now that it is_ ," I thought with a mix of excitement and dread as I confirmed that the parahuman I wanted was indeed buried at a cemetery in the city.

Then I spent an hour researching other parahumans with known identities and checked where they were buried. If I was going to go through with my idea, I needed to run some experiments first. There were so many ways for things to go wrong. I had to find out certain things first and for that I needed at least two or three more parahumans for my experiments.

I found three other names at the same cemetery. Fluer from New Wave, a old Empire cape called Wulf, and a parahuman who had gone nuts at their business a day after triggering. The cemetery was thankfully nowhere near mom's. I don't think I could go through with it if it was in the same graveyard. But I was going to need some new Lusus.

I went to the tanks and started to fill it out with the mixture, selected some old SX samples, pulled out a seed, and started up the sequence. The mechanical arm came to life and started placing the samples together. Growing a Lusus had never seemed so slow. I selected for a hardened mouth. I wanted to them to have a sort of beak that was as strong as possible, and selected for a physiology more for a worm than a snake. Despite going as fast as I could, it still took several hours to grow four of them. I connected the electrodes to my temple and gave them instructions.

They were built to dig down through the dirt as quickly as possible without leaving too much of trace. Then break open the wooden coffins just enough to squeeze in and take a piece of bone. I carefully and liberally sprayed myself before I whistled and they wrapped themselves around me. I pulled on a heavy coat, and took my umbrella as it had been raining off and on all day.

Despite the urgency I felt, I forced myself to take my time. I drove slowly as I weighed my options.

Should I do this?

There is absolutely no question I am committing a crime. Desecrating and robbing a grave, especially a hero's is a shitty thing to do. If the heroes saw me they would try to stop me. Especially if they knew what I intended to do. I could think of several worst-case scenarios that could happen.

But the possibilities! If it works, this could change everything. It could give me the power to make a real difference in the city. To make it so people felt safe to go out at night.

I made my decision. I am going to go through with it but I am going to run some experiments first. If it turns out to be too dangerous I will stop. But I have to know.

The cemetery is in the south side of town. It is big and fancy compared to where my mother is buried. Covered with beautiful mausoleums and statues. The big iron gates are open and there is a funeral procession going in right now that I follow behind. It suddenly starts to rain heavily so I drive at a crawl, looking at the map and memorizing where I need to go and search. I park and wait as everyone in the funeral procession is getting out. I check up on the Lusus one more time, and open my umbrella before I get out.

The rain is pouring as I walk around. It is raining so hard that the water seems to be coming from the ground as it bounces on me. I can barely see so I have to go slowly and carefully check each grave. My shoes are covered in mud before too long. I look at the mourners crowded in a little atrium for a blessing and final viewing. At least the weather is perfect for a funeral.

It doesn't take long to find Fleur's grave. Her grave was the most famous and visited. She has a large gravestone with a statue depicting her in costume. Her first name was the same as her hero name. I hold the umbrella over the dirt, and gently put one of the Lusus on the ground. I whistle and it gets to work burrowing down below.

My family was never very religious. I had even more trouble believing after mom, but for Fleur I say a prayer. I apologize for disturbing her rest, and promise that I will make sure her sacrifice means something. I had always admired New Wave. They had tried to make a meaningful change so things would get better. I put the bouquet of flowers I had specially grown for her. They are white and violet roses, the same colors as her costume. I swear to her that I will make it up to New Wave somehow.

It doesn't take too long for the Lusus to come back up. I push some mud over the small hole with my foot, and make a note to change where I put them so no one notices and connects the dots.

No one else is walking around in the rain and the mud. I am all alone as far a I can see. Despite the umbrella, I'm getting soaked as I search for the next two names on my list.

Wulf, real name Gilbert Sieghard, was an Empire Brute with a very short career. He was during All Father's time leading the 88. He had been arrogant, and drunk with his own power. There hadn't been as many parahumans during his life, and it made him very overconfident. He had been a brute that got tougher the more people were near him. It hadn't helped him much when a large group of unidentified men overpowered him and drowned him in a small pool of water.

Remigio Zusman, didn't live long enough to gain a cape name. He had worked as a salesman before his wife divorced him and he lost his job in the same week. The day after he triggerered, he had gone back to his old work and killed three people including his boss before taking his own life. Reports by witnesses said he connected to people with some type of beam that made him stronger as the other got weaker. He had made his boss so frail that he had managed to kill him with a regular old file folder.

I repeat the procedure and have the Lusus burrow down. I feel dirty and gross with the Lusus under my coat covered in mud. But considering what I'm doing, I find it appropriate.

It takes a long time to find the cape I had come for. I spent over an hour looking at every grave and moving on until I finally found it. I look down at the grave of the person I have come for. Whose power is going to change everything.

Rupert Alexander. AKA The First Butcher.

* * *

Far away, a winged figure slowly turns.


	4. 1-4

Seed 1-4

I was going to take as many precautions as I could think of. I had researched everything I could find on the butcher, and I think I have a way to kill the clones without their power transferring over to me. I was going to design the clones so that they would not live for very long, and I would not include a digestive system to ensure that wouldn't live long enough to be killed by someone. Of course there was still the possibility that its power would transfer to me since I had made it so that it didn't live for too long.

So my excitement was mixed with a healthy sense of palpable danger. The worst-case scenario was that I became a minor brute with a limited ability to cause intense pain in people. For mental changes, I wasn't sure how much would change if my efforts caused the clone's power to transfer. The previous Butchers had experienced a sharp increase in aggressive behavior, and the Third Butcher had a psychotic breakdown that forced him to run at the Teeth. On the bright side I might be conscious in the mind of whoever killed me if this works so I have a better idea about what would happen if I died.

Based off of previous info on the butcher from other capes, at least part of the previous Butcher's memories and personality also made the transfer. That was probably the only way that the newer Butcher could use the previous version's powers so well. But my clones would have no memories and would not be sentient. So there shouldn't be much to transfer and affect my mental processes. So it was a tossup just what would happen to me if my plan succeeded. The plan was to find a cape whose power would greatly expand my own power or knowledge, clone it, have the clone kill a Butcher clone, and personally kill it in turn with a premade kill switch. In theory, I would gain a portion of both previous powers.

Of course I first had to find out just how the process worked, and I would not go through with it until I found out more. I wasn't sure if a clone had to be at least partially sentient to transfer its power. I was going to give some of the later versions similar intellectual ability to an animal so that they decided they were threatened and chose to attack the Butcher on its own. I would not in any way force or compel one of the clones to kill the butcher clone. If my first few experiments went well and I didn't accidentally create a new Butcher, I would continue to experiment. If it didn't work, well I'd cross that bridge when I came to it.

Before I started, I would scan every inch of the clones, and install them with as many sensors as I could to fit in them to record data. That way I could see what changed after the Butcher power or collective transferred. I would measure changes by carefully recording how strong and tough the clones were both before and after killing the Butcher. I would only make a Fleur clone if I needed more data. Her power was going to be hard to measure changes with, as it wasn't as straightforward to use like Brute abilities.

Fleur's power was being able to create tiny floating spheres of light the started the size of a tennis ball and grew as they were hit. She could eventually choose to have them explode with the force of the explosion going up as the sphere grew. She had a weakness in that her power wasn't too useful until she or a teammate hit her spheres to make them bigger and easier to block attacks. They had been too small to block the gunman who ultimately killed her when he surprised her in her home. I doubted I would be able to create a clone able to use her power instinctively.

No matter how much I wanted to, I did not start the experiments right away. I knew how comparatively little I actually knew about parahumans and I did nothing for but study up on current research. I read anything and everything I could get my hands on. I paid Aristotle for every medical study, textbook, or private notes on parahumans he could get me. I read every theory from Glastig's fairies explanation, to Bonesaw's passengers that she had been nice enough to "share". When I finally felt like I knew as much as any regular researcher, I decided it was time to get to work. I found researching parahumans fascinating, and I had my own theories now. Though I was going to wait until after my experiments were done before I finalized my thoughts.

I created a new lab for my Butcher experiments out in the woods north of town. I didn't want to be in the middle of the city in case things went wrong. Having money had made things so much easier to discreetly buy and set up equipment hidden underground. The Lusus had spent weeks doing nothing but digging and building a hidden bunker to run my experiments. My newest creation was a special plant that was cross between a fast moving weed and a tree. I used it to help build the structure and walls of my new temporary lab in record time. I covered the inside with plastic wrap and made cells of concrete to hold any clones I made. I also made a small area to sleep and live in while I experimented.

Dad was going to be leaving soon to the capital due to the anti-union legislation looking like it would pass soon. He was helping to lead demonstrations and trying to calm the dockworkers down. I had one bar but I able to get cell coverage outside of the bunker and I could talk with him whenever he called. With he finally left, I could spend over a week doing nothing but experimenting and sleeping at the lab.

I was sure that no one would actually stumble onto me since there was only one small dirt road into the area, and nothing for miles except what looked like an old deserted barn. I had created a few humanoid Lusus to pack equipment in a rented truck and I made several trips bringing equipment for them to upload. Despite all the equipment and preparation, the lab was very sparten compared to my regular lab. It was filled only with a single tank and the bare minimum equipment to do my experiments.

After all the preparation, and all the trouble I went through, it was finally time to start. I carefully selected the sample of the Butcher and the robotic arm came to life and combined it with a seed. Watching it slowly grow was the single scariest and most thrilling moment of my life. I felt like I was working on a powerful bomb that could explode at any minute.

To start things off, I was making a single clone of the Butcher that was designed to die in a few hours. I couldn't do any more experiments until I was sure I had a method for them to die and not transfer their power to me.

After it was fully-grown I was surprised that the first Butcher had been a surprisingly short but good-looking man. He reminded me of a cross between Danny Devito and the new guy they had picked to play James Bond. His hair was a dirty blond, and he had actual dimples. By all accounts the original Butcher had been characterized as a sadistic bully who got off on causing others pain. He hadn't looked anything like I had pictured him. But his blank eyes staring through the tube were a bit disturbing to see. I pushed a button and the robotic arm gently placed a mask over his face.

I had a large pile of masks nearby for the next set of clones. I had originally been planning to remove the first clone from the tank, but I decided to leave it where it was. This clone was not sentient nor did it even have an animal intelligence. It was nothing more than a vegetable. But future clones would have to be similar to an animal with enough instinct to choose to attack one another without any input or direction from me. For them I intended to put masks on their faces as soon they came out of the tank.

The masks were for my own benefit. While the clones were more like biological machines than people, it still seemed wrong somehow to create something that looked like a human being and experiment on it. The masks helped to distance myself from what I was doing. They might be clones, but they had bodies of real people who had lived their own lives. I had purposely made sure the clones for harvesting organs were never fully formed, and still mixed them with other DNA. They were never alive in the first place.

But these clones would be moving, walking, and killing each other. The masks had been prototypes for my own hero costume. They looked like they had been carved from a green wood, and were featureless, with nothing but small slits for the eyes. They were all covered in geometric patterns that looked like they had been carved into the material. I had been going for something ethereal and mysterious when I worked on them.

My first experiment involved nothing but observing the Butcher clone until it expired. I confirmed that it was alive and that it was a parahuman. It had a Corona Pollentia in its brain, and was significantly stronger than a normal human male around the same developmental age. I started the clock and waited for it to die.

As the hours went on, I got more and more anxious. I eventually took a mild sedative to calm myself down. It ultimately took four hours and twenty-three minutes for the clone to expire due to a heart attack. I thought I could feel something as it died, but that might have been paranoia and stress talking. I hooked myself up to my scanners and waited for several hours doing nothing. It had taken several days for the third butcher to show mental symptoms, while all other Butchers changed much faster in less than a day.

For two days, I checked my body periodically. I looked for signs of increased strength or toughness, changes in brain scans, and unusual thoughts or feelings. This was the hardest part of the experiment, not knowing what could happen.

After another day I breathed a sigh of relief, and decided that the experiment had been a success. Designing Butcher clones to quickly expire would not transfer its power to me. Which meant that I could now truly being my experiments on how the Butcher's power worked. I pushed down my feelings of excitement I felt and continued.

The second experiment was designed to see if I could transfer the Butcher's power to another clone that killed it. I again made a new Butcher clone and put it in a cell with a connecting see through door. I chose to make a clone of Mr. Zusman to see if I could get the Butcher's power to transfer.

The real Zusman had been a middle aged balding man who had looked like the boring accountant he was. But his clone was much younger and I took steps to improve it's body as I needed a clone capable of killing the Butcher. The Zusman clone in contrast to the Butcher did not show evidence of a brute body. The body was normal despite the presence of a Corona Pollentia. I was curious why the Zusman clone did not show evidence of having active powers in its brain. The Butcher had been a parahuman with a brute body from conception, but no the Zusman clone. Did it require a trigger event?

I had the SX-19 wrap itself around the unconscious Zusman clone and drag it to a holding cell. I sent one of the monkey Lusus to go and give it an injection to wake it up. It slowly lifted its masked head and looked around. It got up slowly and took a few tentative steps around. For the next hour it paced pack and forth occasionally running into walls. Interestingly the Zusman clone had a far different size and shape of the Corona Pollentia in its brain.

For the purposes of the experiment, I had given the Zusman some limited instincts to attack and it was designed to be extremely aggressive. I had considered training it to push a button that would kill the Butcher clone, but I had a feeling that would cause the power to transfer to me.

This experiment was a day of firsts. The first time I made something that was intended to lose control, the first time I turned on the video camera to record everything during the experiment, and the very first time I wore my costume to hide my identity. I wore a strong belt and harness under a coat that looked like a mix of a lab and trench coat. The whole thing was colored a reasonably bright green, and had numerous pockets to carry items, and had a open flap on my lower back so that my Lusus could hide around me and leave without anyone being the wiser. I wore dark green pants, and wore black two toed shoes that I had bought for my jogging routine.

My mask had been my masterwork and left my hair flowing free. Made from a combination of a fungus and quick growing plant, the mask would shift around by growing and jutting out, then fading and dying before it grew too far, and then started the whole process over again. It had taken forever but I had eventually got it to repeat the same geometric patterns as the masks I used for the clones, but it was constantly changing to different versions and colors that plants went through in nature. Bright greens, autumn reds, a strange white that looked like petrified wood, and even black as if my mask was decomposing. It was little more intimidating and scary then I had intended but I had to admit that it looked cool.

I did not intend to talk while the video was recording. But I wanted to make sure that I had a record in case something went wrong. I learned that lesson after Winslow had done nothing to stop Sophia and Emma. In case someone found this video later, I didn't want him or her to know my real identity.

The new Butcher clone was standing and not moving a muscle, while the Zusman stared riveted at it through a glass door. With some trepidation, I lowered the door.

At first nothing happened. The Zusman clone continued to stare at the Butcher for almost ten minutes doing nothing. Eventually it started to walk slowly until it was almost touching nose to nose with the Butcher clone. Then without warning it starts to pummel the Butcher with wild swings while not making a single sound. Beyond a spiking in its heart rate, the Butcher clone does nothing.

The fact that the Butcher clone does nothing is odd since I had designed to be territorial and defend itself when threatened. Yet it does not move as its body is pummeled and broken. Eventually I use pheromones to lure the Zusman clone back to its cell and away from the Butcher when I determine that the Butcher clone won't survive its wounds. The Zusman clone is in a bit of a bad shape itself, as it had broken both its hands and arms punching the Butcher. There are actual bones poking outside of its arms.

I carefully study the Butcher clone as its heart rate slowly stops. I brace myself as it finally dies.

Nothing happens and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. The expected strange hallucinations and behavior that other parahumans experience during trigger events hasn't occurred. I carefully examine the Zusman clone, but it does not show signs of increased strength or toughness. But the shape of its Corona Pollentia has changed and it had done so in less than two minutes. Its brain is much more active with neurons firing in the Corona. Did killing the Butcher count as a trigger event when it got the power that was transferred? It was fascinating to watch a sensor record of its brain as it literally morphed and changed.

I pour myself a cup of tea, and sit watching. I am going to keep it under close observation for the rest of the night.

By the second day there have been obvious physical changes. The arms have not been healed, but it somehow seems to be in a better condition then yesterday. It has noticeably more muscle mass, and its skin is tougher. It has also become more aggressive with its eyes constantly tracking movement and its heart rate constantly spiking when something enters its field of vision. It once again begins to aggressively pace around at the cell.

For another test I spray one of the monkey Lusus with the pheromone to make other Lusus friendly toward it. I give it instructions to simply walk around it once and then leave in small hole that the Zusman clone cannot fit into.

Almost immediately it rushes at the monkey and flings it around as it shrieks trying to bite it. Again without makes a single sound, it methodically traps and stomps it to death. It continues to stomp over and over until there is almost nothing left of the monkey and only then does it stop.

There was an unanticipated and unwelcome side effect. The Zusman clone had also been designed to expire very quickly. But the weakness in its body has been decreased after the transferring of the Butcher power. While it should still die relatively soon without medical attention, I'm curious about the rules its power follows. Would not feeding or healing it despite my ability to do so count as murder?

I decide to minimize my interaction with it. I place food and water into its cell, and am again intrigued that it does not eat or drink. It should have the instincts to eat or drink but it makes absolutely no move toward the food or water. It takes almost a full day before it eventually dies.

The autopsy reveals interesting changes that the sensors didn't fully pick up. The heart has become noticeably more rubbery and seems designed to move at a pressure that would be deadly to normal humans. Its canines are also more pronounced, and I'm curious how the Butcher's power caused such physical changes so rapidly. It gives me great ideas for future upgrades toward organs though.

Just to be on the safe side, I again wait for several days to make sure there is no transfer of the Butchers power. When nothing happens, I continue on undaunted.

For the third experiment I wish to see if I can transfer the power from a Zusman clone to a Fleur clone. I intentionally make the Fleur clone much tougher than normal, with transplanted muscle, hardened bones, and poisonous claws instead of fingernails. This way it can beat the Butcher empowered Zusman clone.

I make a few design changes so that the clones waste water extremely quickly, and hope that they continue to lack the instinct to drink. If it doesn't work, then I will simply wait until it starves to death and hope that doesn't count as murdering it.

Growing the Fleur clone is depressing. Despite the mask it still seems like she is accusing me with her eyes. I ignore the feeling that it is watching me as I grow a new Butcher.

I repeat the previous experiment and wait until the Butcher Zusman is at its weakest before opening the door between it and the Fleur clone.

Just like before the Zusman clone rushes at her, but she was designed to resist blunt force trauma and her claws inject it over and over again. Within seconds it starts slowing down before she sticks her claws through its throat. Unlike the previous clones it does not show nearly as much aggression after the transfer.

She does show even more pronounced evidence of a Brute physiology one she becomes the Butcher. The increase in strength and toughness is exactly the same percentage as the Zusman clone when it was empowered by the Butcher. It also shows similar but unique changes to its brain.

She does nothing but stand perfectly still, not reacting to many stimuli. Thankfully, my modifications work perfectly and the Fleur clone dies of thirst in a few hours. For all future experiments I will let them die of thirst while providing water.

For the fourth experiment I repeat the third but use a Wulf clone in place of a Zusman clone. The Wulf clone is surprisingly skinny considering Wulf's reputation. He is almost rail thin, with what my dad liked to call chicken legs, and a very hawkish nose.

I expected the Butcher to keep the same behavior as the previous experiment but am surprised when it charges forward and tries to bit open the neck of the Wulf clone despite the masks. The fight is short and brutal and the butcher wins with disturbing ease. I look over the data but the Butcher clone is exactly the same as the last one. Why did the Butcher's behavior change so drastically? Its behavior raises an interesting theory on the Butcher. Does the Butcher's power want to transfer only to strong opponents? The first clone practically put itself on the Zusman's clone's fists to die, but against a weaker opponent it went for the kill. Could the Butcher naturally have suicidal behavior in front of stronger opponents?

For the second Wulf clone I design it with muscles as big as I can make naturally and give it poisonous claws similar to what I did with the Fleur clone in the last experiment. To ensure the Fleur clone wins, I make it immune to the Wulf Clones toxins and weak to the Fleur clone's personal poison.

There is a far more dramatic result in the Fleur clone when it kills the Wulf. It's strength and toughness is noticeably superior to when it killed the empowered Zusman clone. Interestingly she has shared features of Wulf's power that he himself had not shown until after he killed the Butcher. Her body becomes noticeably tougher the closer that other clones or I get to it. More questions are raised but I continue my experiments.

For the fifth experiment, I decide to use a hybrid clone combing both Zusman and Wulf traits that will kill a Butcher. This experiment takes a while since I have never made a hybrid before and I am distracted by the novelty of the work. All of the viable clones show huge changes from each other in physiology and the shape of the Corona Pollentia. Several do not have one located in their brain at all. Why do only some of the hybrids seem to not be parahumans? It is getting increasingly hard to not be distracted but I only have a few days and resources left so despite my fascination, I continue.

I ultimately decide to use two different hybrid clones with different but similar scans. After they kill the Butcher, they show similar but different powers. One of them grows in strength in proximity to people, and the other gains greater enhanced reflexes. Both powers are again transferred to the Fleur clones, but there is a huge change in behavior compared to killing non-hybrid clones. The Fleur clones show significant cognitive and motor difficulties. One of the Fleur clone starts running everywhere and smashing into anything. It eventually crushes its own skull against the wall and I am a little disturbed that I did not so much as gag. The other clone can't seem to figure out how to stand anymore and starts to have several severe seizures. That one eventually dies after choking on its own tongue. Again I am left with questions.

Why did the hybrid cause such debilitating behavior to the Fleur clones when killed? It is completely different from using a Butcher hybrid at the start. Could a hybrid Butcher be natural somehow?

For the Sixth experiment, I design three different trials where Zusman and Wulf clones attack each other after having the Butcher's power transferred to both of them and giving them what I assume is an artificial trigger event. The purpose of this experiment is to observe what happens when one Butcher collective kills another.

Despite my expectations, none of the victors show any sign of increased strength or toughness. In fact there is no change in the brain at all after killing each other. It seems that the Butcher's power will not transfer to a clone that already has it. Could this be a way to permanently get rid of the Butcher?

For the seventh experiment I create a hybrid clone of the Butcher and Wulf. It takes several tries but eventually it is killed by a regular Zusman clone. The empowered Zusman clones for the first time shows much stronger traces of both the Butcher and the Wulf's powers in its physical body. This has huge implications and I repeat the experiment with different hybrids. Could I gain portions of two powers from killing a single hybrid Butcher? I have the Fleur clone with two new powers killed by a nonparahuman Zusman clone and both powers do seem to transfer.

For the eighth experiment I create a new hybrid clone of Wulf and Zusman. It again kills a Butcher, and shows signs of both of their parent's powers, but now I have it killed by a regular Zusman clone. I'm curious what happens when a portion of a Zusman clone's power transfers to another Zusman with the same ability. I am not expecting much based off how the Butcher powers acted when they killed each other. I release the combatants and check to make sure….

I groggily open my eyes and stare up the ceiling. What I am doing on the floor? I carefully stand and check my vitals and confirm no changes. Based off the time stamp I have short-term memory loss of almost a minute and I start to panic. I immediately begin to check myself for the Butcher transferring to me, but I again show no symptoms, but that could change in the future.

I rewind the recording and watch the recording. There I am moving to check my screen as the clone kills the hybrid and then I pause. I stare transfixed as I see myself start to babble and shake my head. What am I saying? I increase the volume and I can barely make out three words. I say the words, "shard, seeds, and growth.". I am saying something else under my breath but I keep repeating those words. I seem to be in a trance and I start to walk toward the clone, but trip and fall back on the floor.

This is unprecedented. I share the same characteristics of other parahumans in the presence of a trigger. But why did I only experience this now when a Zusman clone gained a portion of a Butcher that already had part of the same power? Did I just witness a second trigger? I carefully examine the Zusman clone, and stare in surprise at its brain scans.

The Zusman clone's brain is eerily similar to several Butcher empowered Wulf/Zusman hybrids brains already on file. But it differs in that its Corona Pollentia is huge, going all the way through to the back of the brain. The clone is also completely wild in its behavior. It isn't able to sit still for longer than three seconds and I had to sedate it so it wouldn't crush its own head against the wall. Most impressively it has a brand new power that I have never recorded in any of the clones, hybrid or otherwise. It has the ability to weaken any living thing that it is near it. I can feel myself grow sluggish and tired the closer I get to it.

Its body has also incredibly healed. It no longer has the weakness I designed into it that causes it to waste water quickly. How did it know to fix its genes so precisely? This type of healing is much more complicated than simple regeneration.

I carefully record every bit of data I have and think about my reaction to its triggering. I am struck with indecision. Should I repeat the experiment to see if I can say anything else? No one remembers their trigger events and this could be a huge chance to truly learn something about where powers come from. But I can't help but think about my actions while I was in a trance. I was walking toward the clone that almost certainly would have killed me if I opened its door. I remember my mantra of being paranoid and decide to not do it again. Not having control of my actions was too dangerous when I had no one else that could make sure I didn't do something stupid. But this gives me new ideas for something to try. Instead of making a hybrid of powers to transfer, could I give myself a 2nd trigger by making a Butcher hybrid with my own DNA and kill it?

For my ninth and final experiment, I create almost a dozen Fleur clones. Their purpose will be to continuously attack all at once until they manage to kill the Zusman clone from my last experiment. It kills all but two of the Fleurs before it dies, and I stare at the Fleur who killed it but nothing happens. To my surprise there is absolutely no transferring of abilities or changes in the Fleur clones brain. Why doesn't the new hybrid power transfer like the other Butchers?

While I have plenty of new ideas for future experiments, I have no choice but to stop. I am running out of resources, and I am exhausted mentally and physically. For the next few days I do nothing but look over my data, and reread previous research on parahumans and weigh my options.

I think I have a theory now about how powers work, and it is a little scary. Based off of my own experiments and common traits of parahumans, I think we are just an experiment for something else. We are essentially lab rats and the earth is essentially a giant Petri dish for powers. This intelligence wants powers to spread to gain more data about them. But the question remains why?

I imagine that I am an alien intelligence with the same goals as I did with the Butcher experiment. See what powers transfer, how things change, and why. This could explain why all parahuman powers are combat related in some way. Well if I was running an experiment I would want my specimens to only kill each other in controlled conditions, and to keep them from being destroyed, as I would lose valuable data. So Scion is almost certainly involved somehow.

Powers did not start to spread until after he arrived, he is the biggest difference between our realities and other ones where powers exist but are few. My guess is that he acts as a safety feature to keep the experiment running smoothly. He destroyed nuclear weapons, stops volcanoes from erupting, and fights the Endbringers so that not too many of us are killed off and the experiment is ruined.

Its possible he isn't even sentient and is a projection or platform for this alien intelligence to ensure the experiment isn't ruined. But there are a few things that still don't make sense.

What is the Endbringers purpose in this experiment? Their behavior has never made sense to anyone else. Despite the destruction and death it is obvious that they are holding back. If I were Leviathan I would simply stay away from the mainland and constantly cause huge Tsunamis. But he comes onto land where we can drive him off and force him to stop while he heals. It is a very similar situation to how Behemoth acts when he does not come up right under its target. Instead he appears well away and gives us a chance to stop him. But despite the fact that they are essentially jobbing fights, the damage is still too huge for it to be good for the experiment. If I was running it I would like to keep us isolated, stable, and have constant border skirmishes for the right amount of data without sacrificing too many of my specimens. Is it possible the Endbringers are from another rival different from those that back Scion?

It could explain why they are so different but similar in power to Scion. Perhaps Scion, and the Endbringers are the end goals of powers with the purpose to gain new data to build more? Perhaps powers are similar to seeds. They plant them in humans and like plants they grow depending on what you cross them with and where. They watch them grow over time, then make a cut and plant it anew in a person nearby, and collect the data when it dies. That could explain why children of parahumans and others near them are more likely to trigger. They already have data that they are similar enough for a good harvest.

Considering my plant analogy perhaps they gather the material when we die to build something else. In the end I had more questions than answers, and it was still only a theory. Quite a crazy one at that, and it didn't change too much for me. The Endbringers still need to be stopped, villains need to be defeated, and Scion is still going to protect us for whatever purpose he has. But the question now was what to do with my data.

I am reminded of a game that Emma and pretty much every school child has liked to play at some point where you are asked what power you would like to have. Besides the obvious answer of Eidolon who has every power. Emma had always wanted to be like Alexandria. Being able to fly and there being nothing capable of hurting her. I had always wanted a power that let me makes stuff. I had always loved art, and despite my grumbling I really did love my power. Having the power to be able to picture impossible designs and make them a reality was very fulfilling.

I had not yet created my flying pony, or panda dog mostly because I knew a pet was a big responsibility and I would not be around enough to give it the attention such a being would deserve. But now I had a choice to make. I could right now give myself a portion of one or two powers, or possibly give myself another trigger event.

Based off of what happened in the experiments I think it would be safer to give myself a portion of other powers via Butcher transfer. Based off of my research those that had 2nd triggers tended to not last that long, and the resulting changes in the clones were more extreme. But the issue was safety.

I was no fool. I am well aware that some people are really screwed by their power and there are numerous examples of negative effects that powers can give you. There are several side effects that worry me. All of the clones showed increased aggression, and I am reminded of what the Third Butcher went through. If there is no consciousness to transfer over, I don't think I will have to worry about other voices in my head driving me mad. But I do need to plan for suddenly gaining a nastier temperament.

There are drugs I can take for mood, but I can't be on them twenty-four hours a day without certain side effects. There are some brain modifications I could try. I could use some of my seeds to increase the growth or ability of parts of my brain responsible for managing emotion and logic. That might be enough to compensate for any increased aggression from the new powers.

I already had planned to operate on my own brain via remote. But I never went through with it because there were quite a few things that could go wrong. Panacea might be able to help me, but she doesn't know who I am and she famously can't work on brains. She would never go near me if she finds out what I am doing. I doubt I would find a volunteer to practice and observe.

I have to decide if I can risk the increased aggression or other side effects from killing a Butcher clone. There are ways to control having a short temper. Despite everyone telling me that dad has a nasty temper, he never showed it to mom or me. I think that I can be coherent enough to recognize that my mind is suffering from too many side effects and risk taking actions to try and fix myself. I did make it this far.

Perhaps I can try to figure out how to weaken the Butcher's power, or the seed as I had come to think of powers, from having too much influence. The power connects through the brain after all. Perhaps there is someway I can weaken or modify that connection to fit my purposes. Though that requires more experimentation and I am tired of waiting. If I don't try to be a hero now, too many things will distract me.

Though now that I think of it, how much of those thoughts are mine? I had made the Butcher clones more aggressive to suit my experiment, was it possible that the source of my power had done the same so I would use and experiment with it? That is a nasty thought but again, it doesn't really change anything. The gangs have too much power and I know that I can change that with the right abilities.

The plan is to create two clones. One clone will be a completely unaltered Butcher and the other will be a hybrid of two capes. I will have the hybrid kill the Butcher clone, and then I will kill the hybrid with a pre-installed kill switch. Based off my experiments that should transfer a portion of three powers to me. It should give me a portion of a brute ability, and the ability to affect the nervous system of others to cause pleasure or pain from the Butcher. The main question now is whom do I use to make up the hybrid?

It is easy to just say that giving myself a portion of Alexandria, or Eidolon's power would be best but it would never work. I require DNA and I will never be able to get a sample of theirs. My best bet is to again try for dead parahumans or capes with open identities like criminals. I can gain samples from cemeteries, and known criminals usually have their DNA on file somewhere for law enforcement to compare to.

Thinking about it, I feel that the best way to improve myself would be powers that naturally enhance or support my own Tinkering. So what would make my own power better?

Well a way to more easily control or program my Lusus would be great. Making it so I could use them in the field would give me the numbers to compete with the gangs, and I could modify them based on what I face. Another Tinkering power would also work. I am already used to being a Tinker, and I have not noticed any mental side effects from it. So another Tinker power wouldn't be too hard to get used to. The question is again, what powers are out there that I can use?

After some research I make a list of names. Biological or wetware Tinkers are my top choices. Bonesaw would let me push the abilities of my Lusus to further heights, would greatly improve my power, and there is plenty of disgusting evidence that she can control the bodies of others. Labrat's ability to create powerful transformations could also enhance my Lusus, and I could use clones for experimentation. I can't pronounce her name, but Japan has a famous Hero who is some kind of Tinker Herbalist with plants. That could have interesting synergy with what my Lusus could do.

For programming or controlling my Lusus there were far fewer names. Teacher or Overmind would let me control and direct my Lusus. Teacher would let me give abilities to my Lusus and greatly improve my ability to program what they could do. Overmind would let me monitor and direct every Lusus implanted in real time from a connected network and was a powerful Tinker. Hijack could allow me to directly control the bodies of one of them, and I could make a huge variety of parahuman clones that I could directly control.

But the issue is finding DNA for them. I had already paid Aristotle for all the information he could find on several of these names. I was a little worried he might be suspicious of why I wanted it, but he didn't ask any questions. There was no sample of Teacher or Hijack around. Knowing Teacher he probably took steps to erase every trace of himself. But after researching every possible choice, there were two names that fit my needs in that they were useful, and I had a good chance of getting access to their DNA.

At first glance Bonesaw's DNA seemed like it would be the hardest to get a hold of. She changed and transplanted other parts into herself all the time and was fond of leaving traps of disease for people to find. But she did have a birth certificate and a record of which hospital she was born in. It wasn't well known but every baby had a sample of blood taken at birth to screen for disease. They often kept this sample for quite awhile and Bonesaw's blood was in storage in a clinic only four hours away.

Security shouldn't be that tight. I can create a clone of a doctor or put a new face on to steal it. I could also bribe a worker or a janitor with a large amount of money to steal or take it for me. At most I would encounter two locked doors and a camera. I would have to commit a burglary but I am reasonably sure I can get hold of Bonesaw's DNA.

The other name on my list was Overmind. She had a prior arrest record that I had looked up. The law said that the government could keep a sample of you DNA forever once you entered the criminal justice system. I found her arrest record, and again found where these samples are stored. That lab was quite a bit farther but the building is very small with hardly any employees. It shouldn't be too hard for me to break in and take a sample and I would just have to worry about the long drive

Maybe I could pay someone else to break in? Faultline is famous for being a competent mercenary and she is in the city at a well-known club. I have money to afford her now, and it shouldn't actually be too hard for them. She might be suspicious about why I am stealing it but I can just say I am researching the DNA of powerful Tinkers looking for common markers if asked. Which is technically the truth.

Considering how useful Aristotle has been, it can't hurt to see how much it would cost. I look up the Palanquin website online and send them an email as a customer interested in renting their services. If they want to talk I will send a messenger bird describing what I want them to do and asking for a price that they can send back.

I use the same email I use with Aristotle and send them the details of wanting to meet and include a money order just to buy a few moments of their time.

While waiting, I spend the rest of the day cleaning up my previous experiments. The Lusus are pretty busy burying the clones in deep mass graves. I plant a few trees that should be able to have a slightly accelerated growth to hide them. I do not intend to keep working here. The lab is far too small and isolated for my needs. But having a back up lab could be useful. Don't want to put all my eggs in one basket after all.

After a few hours and covered in sweat I check up on my email and am pleasantly surprised that she has responded with interest. I send another email and make a quick Lusus of a crow to deliver a message by waiting outside a window. It is colored green but I think it looks rather cool. I leave all the information of what I want, where the samples are located, and ask them to give me a figure. My savings have taken a hit from all these experiments but I am willing to go as high as one or two million. I send the bird on its way, and just take nap on the ground for a few hours.

When I wake up, I decide to lay there enjoying the sky for a while. Its just relaxing to just soak up the suns rays and think. It's a perfect day with a gentle breeze, and just the right amount of clouds. I have already decided to go through with this. If it works I will have a portion of Bonesaw and Overmind's ability, but there could be side effects. Would I lose my empathy like Bonesaw? Would I become obsessed with defending my territory like Overmind? But then I think of what I can do with their powers. An army of modified Lusus directly controlled by me. That would make a difference in this city.

I don't have my watch, so I am not sure how long I was thinking, but I am interrupted out of my thoughts by the arrival of my bird. I gently sit up and take the message from its leg. Faultline wrote it by hand as a contract, and did it with impeccable penmanship. Faultline has agreed to do it for 250,000 dollars. Which is chump change for me now. I carefully write a message where she can pick up her money and where she can drop off the samples when she has them. Then I write to make sure she is not alarmed when large hawks come to pick up the sample. Then I decide to finally go home and clean the place up. Dad should be home tomorrow.

I make a big dinner for dad welcoming him home. I ask him to play a board game with me, and we have a good time. I thank him for being so patient with me and tell him I love him. He says the same. I am too well energized from my small nap and the sun to sleep. I think of mom and stare at the ceiling.

* * *

Today is the day.

I have everything ready to perform the procedure. Another Butcher clone is sedated in a cell while I grow the hybrid from the samples provided by Faultline. I take my time growing two dead clones of both of them. Bonesaw is surprisingly young looking and even cute. She wouldn't look out of place in a kid's magazine. Hard to believe what she is now.

Overmind is a tall and beautiful black woman. She looks nothing like the police photos of her. Her two faces are like a before and after drug ad. I carefully study their brains, and start to grow the hybrid. I choose the most stable looking one, and cut extra growths for hours before I am satisfied.

I carefully sedate the clone, and open its chest to install the devices that will kill it quickly and instantly. Then I place her opposite the Bucher and wake it up. The Butcher has been given a weak body so there is no question who is going to win the fight. I open the door and for once do not look as I hear fighting. It doesn't take long before I hear the sound of struggling stop. A glance at my screen confirms the Butcher clone is dead.

I put off killing it for a little while. I know I am stalling but I am still nervous. I gather all the mechanical parts I could find or buy. I place them together with a great set of tools that should handle the basics of what a normal Tinker should need for their first builds. I leave a message to Dad in case something goes wrong telling him my story and giving him my love. Then I carefully sit down at my desk, and trigger the switch. Despite myself I flinch as I hear the flat lining of the heart.

I don't do anything but wait for the rest of the day. I have no physical changes, but based off my experiments they can happen in a few minutes. As the hours go buy, I decide to try and relax by looking at my newest attempt to create a Bug Lusus that can survive at a greater size. I am not having much luck, but I still love trying to figure things out and growing new attempts.

I don't notice for almost ten minutes that I am having a much easier time performing the autopsy of my latest failure. Before I always had trouble with navigating in bodies of new clones that I had never used before. But now I am going through without any thought and with startling speed. Realizing what this means, I carefully look at the corpse of the dead bug and start to get ideas. I think of ways to build some machines to handle its energy intake, maybe some type of artificial lungs to breathe despite the exoskeleton. I look at my old exoskeleton failures and again I get ideas. I think of ways to better program and control it, which leads to how to make a transmitter and implant so I can observe the data whenever I need to. It isn't until I look at all my research and have a moment of inspiration that I start to laugh.

I am not sure why I am laughing. I try to stop but I can't help myself. It sounds embarrassing to my ears, full of snorts and I have tears in my eyes.

I think about everything that brought me to this point. I think of Emma and Sophia and all they did to me. I think of the woman on the bus who felt unsafe around the ABB proudly wearing their colors. I turn on the police scanner and hear a report of a body found at the docks.

I start laughing harder. I sound like a lunatic at this point.

I start forming a plan as I laugh. Thinking of it, I start laughing so hard I can't even take the air in to make the sound of laughter anymore. But I can't help it. It's just so damn funny.

The gangs have no idea what is coming.

I am going to hurt them.

I am going to hurt them so badly.


	5. 1-5

Seed1-5

"Just set a trap", I said, "We give them a target and ambush them when they show up." I answered while helping myself to seconds. The silverware was a little fancy for my tastes, but Kayden did make a good living. Though her house was like something out of a designer magazine. Weird sofas, paintings, and tiny pillows as far as the eye could see.

"We already did set several traps that worked perfectly," Victor snorted. "We have destroyed almost a dozen of the things at this point, but until we find the source of them, it doesn't matter how many we destroy. After a few days the things show up again and continue attacking."

"So then we just need to find the parahuman who is making them and teach the stupid bastard what happens when they mess with the Empire." I said as I helped myself to a generous helping of syrup for the pancakes." Victor was a arrogant bastard at times, but he was a good cook. Even better he and Mary were on some health kick, which meant more for me.

"You make it sound so easy", Mary, said with a laugh as she put her hand on Victors. "How exactly are you planning on doing that Justin? Whoever this master is, they can control their minions while being far away."

"Does it really matter?," Kayden asked with a yawn. She carefully poured some more coffee before looking annoyed at me for using all the cream earlier. "The most this guy is doing is just annoying Max. A few stolen cars, some smashed windows, and a few assaults on people that probably should have been more discrete with their beliefs. It's hardly a threat to the Empire."

"Its the principal of the thing Kayden. People should not be afraid to show their respect to the cause. It makes us look weak that we have allowed this to go unpunished for so long. " Victor said with that annoyingly good speaking voice he had going on. Mary actually looked impressed and beamed at him.

"Well than what exactly does Max want from me now?" Kayden asked. "Its not like I am any better at catching this guy. Despite my better judgment I helped him when Lung started to grow too big so his people could get away."

"Our people Kayden", I said. " Even if you don't want to work with Max I know you still believe in the cause and like to get things done on a more personal level. You remind me of a old time detective on the block. It's why I like to work with you. Besides we don't want anything. We just wanted to eat and keep you in the loop. If you hadn't held off Lung, things could have gotten worse".

"He's right," Mary said. " Despite any differences you have with Kaiser, we are still your friends."

Kayden looked like she wanted to say something, but thought better of it. She really looks like a completely different person compared Purity. It's hard to believe that the mousy and plain looking woman, was the same person who held off Lung single handily. But I see the same fierceness in her eyes, and I can see that she wants to say something to me without the other two there.

"Mary, Victor, do you mind if I speak to Kayden privately?"

Victor, of course, took the hint pretty quickly. "Of course, we have to go see if we can help a few of the victim of the last attack anyway." He puts his arm out and Mary took it with a smile. More of their sickening love dovey act. I feel a touch of pity for Mary. Its obvious that she loves Victor more than Victor loves her. They walk out and I wait until I hear their car start up before I relax. Considering how many skills Victor has and his power, I can never relax around him.

"So why are you really here," Kayden asked. "What haven't I been told? Max has been trying to keep me out of the loop ever since I stopped working with him. "

"Well the attacks have been a bit more frequent and serious than anyone knows. Max has been paying people to help them with repairs and to keep them quiet. He always was a big picture kind of guy who liked to help our people."

"More likely he just doesn't want to look weaker after the last debacle with Coil. He barely gained any territory despite all those speeches and preparation. What do we have to show for the attack and all our losses? A few new blocks of territory that we probably won't be able to hold for very long, a few of Lung's dealers off the streets, and Tony being shot by Coil's new Tinker toys."

"Well a few weeks ago we started to get reports of people getting attacked in our territory. Just a few people who weren't afraid to show their pride. A guy sweeping at a flower shop was pulled into an alley and had both of his legs broken. One of our recruiters was trying to hand out flyers to some students at the park when he got tackled and they broke his arms in three places."

"It was always the same mo. Three guys in big coats and hats who weren't afraid to attack in broad daylight. As time went on the attacks started to increase and they started to steal cars. We figured it was just some thug who wanted to make a quick buck. We couldn't get any info until we got a lucky break."

"The owner of a mechanic shop loyal to our cause was attacked at work and managed to get a shot off with a pistol he kept at his desk." I take a sip of my coffee before it got cold. "He said that he was sure his attackers weren't human. They went after him with no hesitation and no fear. He put several bullets in at least one chest but it just kept coming. They broke his hands and forced some kind of liquid down his throat. He called us instead of the cops and we found some green shit at the scene. We got some people to take it to a lab and they said it was filled with some kind of chlorophyll. Definite parahuman minion."

"I was just messing with Victor, but he was telling the truth about how traps aren't working. We managed to set a trap the next week and had Hookwolf waiting for them. They completely ignored him and went after the bait instead. Managed to break several ribs before Hookwolf tore them apart. They were green, and made of some type of material tougher than skin. Almost like tree bark. We didn't get too much of a good look since they melted after they died."

"They melted?"

"Yeah they just started to decompose really fast. Reminded me of fighting Spree. His dead clones decompose in a few hours. Anyway, Stormtiger said they smelled like plants when they decomposed, so our best guess is that our unknown master is making humanoid and walking plants. Victor is probably right. Until we figure out where they are coming from, we can't really stop them. They aren't very strong, but that kind of continuous damage can hurt us in the long run. Othala can't be everywhere."

"So what is Max's plan? He never was the type to ask for help."

"We are doing the same thing as before and setting up several obvious targets to attack, but this time we have inserted a hidden transmitter in a few cars the targets will be seen driving. We're going to let it get stolen and see where it goes. Then show the stupid bastards what happens to those who cross us."

"Max doesn't want me there does he?"

"No he doesn't. You took a bit of the spotlight away from him when you fought off Lung and he wants to be seen handling this personally. "

"Fine. But be careful."

"I'm always careful. Besides it's just a weak master who can make three minions who aren't that strong. We're going in force mostly to make him an example. The bastard isn't going to know what hit him."

* * *

I swear I am going to kill whoever this is just for making me hike through these damn woods at night. I had already tripped over two tree roots, and I was far from alone. Though we were far enough away from the city so that the woods were scary dark, it was still a little too bright out for me to fly and not be noticed. Kaiser had vetoed the idea so we didn't tip the guy off and have him try to run away. Victor had scouted the place out beforehand, and there was only one dirt road in, but he hadn't found the stolen cars so it was possible he had a getaway vehicle hidden under a tarp. He had carefully crawled along the clearing checking with a small metal detector and made sure there weren't any mines or traps.

I had kindly asked why Victor didn't just go in and capture the guy, but it seemed his minions were up and stripping a car while he slept in a back room. He wasn't sure what else they could do and there were at least six of them, so he suggested caution. Kaiser of course wanted his theater for everyone so we were going to gather in the clearing in front of his house and give him a hell of wake up call.

So here we were walking down a shitty dirt road in the fucking woods without flashlights. While it was only a short walk to the clearing from where we ditched the cars, at least that was Victor claimed, I was still wary. Anyone walking in the dark would be. Though it was comforting being surrounded by people dedicated to the cause. We had gone in force. A dozen of the Empire's parahumans, and the hand picked of the Empire's finest armed with guns. Kaiser was at least here with us, leading from the front walking with his hands behind his back. It looked like he didn't have a care in the world.

The plan had gone off without a hitch. One of our marked cars got stolen and we tracked it to the woods north of the city. Victor had scouted it out beforehand and found a large building at the edge of clearing with just a single dirt road. Kaiser had placed out the call and we gathered ready for some righteous fury. We didn't bring everyone of course. We needed someone back in case Lung or Coil tried something, and Rune had a test tomorrow. Or today technically since it was past midnight.

The clearing was surprisingly big, being as wide as two football fields, with a large building that looked like it could have been a barn at some point nestled at the far end. There was evidence the guy had his minions cutting down trees and fixing it up. The construction looked brand new, and there was recent wooden garage on the side where we could see lights through the windows at the top.

Kaiser raised his hand, and we slowly spread out along the tree line. Then with a wave we spread out. It was quite a dramatic sight with everyone out in full costume almost like we were on parade. The twins sauntered out and slowly grew taller. They took up positions in the center, scanning for threats. I stool still and other ghostly me's began to step out and take to the air. When I had them all out they surrounded me and slowly lifted me into the sky. Our new recruit Andrew, or Gischt, had started to create patches of the ground on the fire that didn't spread to give us light. Kaiser without moving his arms started to grow thin spears for my ghosts to use, and started to surround the building with huge slabs of metal to cut off any escape. Then he created a throne with a wave of his hand, and calmly took a seat. When everyone was spread out beside him, he made his move. Huge slabs of metal rose with a bang, and took off the front the house before they slowly retreated back beneath the ground.

Almost immediately a half a dozen of the minions that been annoying us the last few weeks went after us at a sort of jog. Getting a clear look at them made it obvious how inhuman they were. They were muscled like weightlifters, and looked like they were made of a plant that looked almost like celery. They didn't have mouth or noses making me curious if they could eat, but their eyes were huge and reminded me of a owl's. They had no hair or eyebrows, and their arms were weirdly long with two joints. They didn't make a sound or move with any sort of emotion.

"Gischt, if you would be so kind," Kaiser said.

Andrew moved forward eagerly and a huge wave of fire shot out from his body toward the slow moving freaks. It covered the ground for an instant lighting up the night, before it died down, replaced by a huge column of steam and smoke. "Well if he didn't know we were here yet, he sure does now" I said with a laugh looking down.

Then without missing a beat Kaiser calmly started to talk. "You who have dared to raise your hand against the Empire, it is time for your judgment. Come out now, or I will take your knees and make you crawl to your judgment."

For a second nothing happens, and all we here is silence. That's when we hear laughter. It starts as weird cackling, and the voice sounds like it is constantly changing to different people with every syllable. Then it starts to rise in volume and we start to hear a rattling sound that grows louder as it gets nearer and a figure comes into the light.

She is wearing what looks like a cross between a lab coat and robe colored bright green. Considering the long, feminine black hair, and the large chest it is almost certainly female. Below her waist is the reason she laughed at Kaiser. She has the body of what looks like a dark colored rattlesnake and is covered with rough looking scales ending in a huge rattle covered in spikes. A case 53? Her face is disturbing. It just shows a plant that makes a weird pattern as it constantly grows and dies. She has to be at least twenty feet long and she raises herself to her full height to look down on Kaiser while still laughing.

"Hello my little lab rats," she says with a sneer. "If you get down on your knees, and swear to leave my city and never come back, I promise I will not chase you down like the dogs you are in the future."

Kaiser seems taken aback for a few second and then composes himself. "Men of the Empire. Show her what happens to those that dare to attack us." He motions to Hookwolf who starts running at her at full speed.

"Very well, you've made your choice," she said as she started to laugh hysterically.

Hookwolf's skin is churning like a chainsaw and he is just about to reach her when she promptly explodes and the ground follows her. Huge giant pimple things start sprouting out of the field and exploding into huge geysers of blood and gore. Kaisers' throne is bowled over and he flips head over heels several times before tumbling onto the ground. People are thrown violently into the air and Menja actually slips and falls. The blood reaches so high that even I am splashed and I gag at the smell.

A skunk has sprayed me in the past when I was kid and this was worse. It was like fresh dog shit mixed with rotten eggs. As far away as I was it still burned my throat and I started coughing. If this affected me this badly when I'm so high up, I couldn't' imagine what the others were feeling.

I was trying to breathe when one of my ghosts spotted movements in the trees and I moved it closer for a better look and reacted in alarm. I quickly shouted a warning and moved my ghosts down to the ground and at the trees that surrounded the clearing.

The tree line was alive with movement. Huge green wolves with their backs covered in grass were running full tilt at us, what look like huge apes covered in branches started looping forward, and the ground is alive with what look like dozens of snakes all moving as fast as they can at everyone else. But it's what looks like four armed monkeys in the trees that I try to stop. The damn things are carrying and loading small things objects into long tubes.

Menja and Fenja's heads were up high, so they managed to escape the worse of it and they quickly order the gunmen to fire. But nobody was in any condition to follow it right away except Alabaster who picks up a gun and starts firing. Everyone else is either retching on the ground or slipping in the blood. Menja moves to pick up Kaiser and Fenja holds her shield at an angle to try and shield whoever is near her. Krieg manages to knock several of them away but they're too hard too see and they start to hit the ground in explosions of light and sound. Definitely Flash bangs and what smelled like tear gas started to block my view.

Hookwolf rushes toward a group of wolves, and Andrew makes a line of fire and pushes it up high to block off a side. A few people start to fire into the rushing line of monsters. Victor managed to score several headshots with his rifle. My ghosts try to stab at the monkey things with their spears, but they are too agile to hit. I start to move myself lower to the ground when I spot movement in the air.

A flock of what looks like eagles are moving toward me in formation and I pull a few ghosts into formation around me. I pull out my gun and start to fire at them as they duck and weave trying to get past my ghosts. I manage to hit one of them and it falls to the ground but there are too many of them and they're more maneuverable than my ghosts. I start lowering myself to the ground when one of them crashes into me and starts to peck at my arm.

My costume is tough enough to take the worst of it but my face gets badly cut before I manage to fire at it point blank. It rocks back and falls to the ground. There is no time to think as three more get near me and I keep firing. I don't even have to curse, as I run out of ammo and the three of them crash into me causing me to fall.

I land on my legs and scream as I feel my left one break and I painfully roll upright. My ghosts manage to skewer one of the wolves as it jumps at me and I feel its blood spray my face. Despite being stuck with four spears it still tries to get at me before it dies.

The things are fighting among us now and the monkeys do not seem to care that they are now starting to hit the rest of the monsters. It hurts to move but I manage to reload and shoot another wolf as it goes after Krieg who is keeping most of the mortar's rounds from hitting us. It's chaos with all the noise, and smoke. My ghosts spot Menja swinging her spear and taking out three of the apes before two of the eagles hit her in the face causing her to fall back on her butt. She waves her arms in panic in front of her face as they go for her eyes. Kaiser is held up high by Fenja and is busy making a wall of metal to protect our flanks.

But they come at us without fear, impaling themselves on my spears, through gunfire, and running through the flames to get to us. Andrew is unprepared for them to go through the fire and turns to run when he is dog piled. His costume was made to protect himself from fire so he can probably hold out for a little while, but he still has burning wolves mauling him. Cricket manages to take out two of them with her sickles, and kicks a third away. They go after her but most are too injured to move and she is too agile. Stormtiger is pushing the smoke away and moving to the edge to try and hit the small snakes before the reach us on one side. Hookwolf is trying to help, but the things are actively avoiding him and moving closer to everyone else. The gunmen are firing in small groups and we are holding our own now. Which is when the snakes hit us.

Kaiser's wall keeps out most of them, but enough of them manage to get in before it closes the clearing off. Despite the pain I raise myself up in the air in time but the snakes go straight for everyone else's legs. They snakes are hard to hit with rifles and pistols and several gunmen start screaming as they go down. The others start to stomp and wield their guns like clubs trying to hit them. Cricket is hopping back and forth moving like she is some elaborate dance with her sickles taking off heads.

Fenja is hit in the face by a flash bang and manages to put Kaiser down without falling in pain. The light, and noise still affect her no matter how big she is. Menja screams her sister names and takes a running jump over the wall and rolls over and over. She uses her bulk to crush the things trying to get in, and keeps rolling while ignoring the motor fire. She hits the trees like a battering ram, knocking them down. The monkeys seem to be thankfully running out of ammo as their fire rate starts to wind down. The tide seems to have turned now. The clearing is blocked off and most of the things are dead.

I curse that I only brought two clips as I run out of ammo and move my ghosts among the main group, spearing anything that looks green. As the smoke clears it's easier to see, but the snakes are hard to hit while moving through the blood. Move and stab, move and stab. I don't really remember too much beyond screaming and smoke.

After what seems like hours, but what is really only a few minutes the fighting stops. I push my ghosts through Kaisers wall and start to finish off the few snakes on the other side. While there I lower myself closer to the ground and wince when I accidentally move my leg.

We got hit pretty hard. Bodies of the things litter the ground, and those that are standing move to keep the casualties face up so they don't drown in the blood that has pooled in the box made by Kaiser's power. Kaiser is sitting on the ground and panting with his helmet off as he examines the head of one of the apes. The twins are towering above him nearby, with Menja examining Fenja's face. Cricket is helping Andrew sit up, as it seems his legs got bit pretty badly where his costume was thinnest. The only one who looks no worse for wear is Alabaster in his spotless suit.

Krieg is using his power to clear away the blood and bodies of the things away from us. His costume is covered in blood and it seems some of Andrew's fire hit him at some point. Even Victor seems out of it, looking like he just ran a marathon. Othala for once isn't near him, and is standing over a guy with broken glasses who got bitten in his neck by one of the snakes. I think his name is Brad? Hookwolf is pacing back and forth full of energy, and looking like he is ready for round two.

Despite the pain I breathe a sign of relief. We got hurt but whomever that bitch was she didn't kill anybody. Though considering what we just faced, she probably could have killed at least a few of us with ease. Was that freak a hero?

We probably need to get to the cars and go soon. People heard that in the next county and the heroes will be on their way soon. My leg is fucked up. At least one broken bone, but once its set Othala can fix me up in a few minutes. She is going to be busy tonight. As I scan the battlefield, Othala suddenly stands up and starts walking toward Kaiser. He waves her off, but she keeps walking straight toward him with confidence through the blood and stepping on several of those thing's corpses. Then she suddenly stops near him as everyone stares at her. I feel myself tense wondering what's wrong.

"I am Faust", she says quietly.

Then several things happened at once. Menja lunges her body down and tries to block Kaiser, while Kaiser starts to scramble away, and Alabaster starts to fire at it. The fake Othala vomits out a huge stream of clear liquid with such force it takes off its mask revealing another one of the things that first came out of the damned house. It splashes all over Kaiser's face and armor despite jerking as bullets hit it. Menja's spear skewers it to the ground and almost cuts it in half as Kaiser starts to scream.

Even as Fenja is shrinking, she is trying to get the armor off of him as he is thrashing around trying to muffle his screams. Everyone is standing apart in groups, looking shocked. It hits me that everyone's hearing is probably gone considering how loud the flash bangs had been. Most probably didn't hear what that thing said. From their perspective Othala suddenly started vomiting on Kaiser. But it's obvious now that it wasn't Othala. The thing wearing Othala's costume is bleeding green from the lower half of its torn body.

Victor is running around screaming Mary's name. He desperately looks over the ground, kicking over bodies on the ground before Cricket calls him over. I float over and spot them staring at a large hole in the ground.

"There's a tunnel" Cricket says with the robot voice of her synthesizer. She starts to run looking at the ground. Victor follows after her looking he wants to hit her to go faster. They start to run well into the trees with Hookwolf and Stormtiger right behind them. I move one of nearby ghosts from above to see if I can spot something when I hear Victor call up at it.

"There's another hole and signs of what looks Othala was dragged to a some kind of vehicle. It has to be something small to maneuver, and having to move through all the trees will slow them down. My invincibility should let me go without tiring for at least another twenty minutes. I am going after it." I have the ghost give him thumbs up before I relay the information to everyone else.

Hookwolf, Cricket, and Stormtiger come running back. "We need to get out of here", Hookwolf says with authority. "We need to get our wounded and Kaiser to a doctor. The cops and the heroes will be on their way soon".

We start to pack up and go. I use my ghosts to pick up a few people that have been paralyzed by snakebites and I keep low to the ground in case there are more flying birds under that bitch's control. We make our way back to the cars down the road when I hear someone yell they slashed the tires.

"Call for people to come and pick us up" Krieg shouts, "We had cell coverage earlier, look up how far we are too another road." I pull out my work cell and struggle to stop the growing panic when I see I don't have any bars. I have a ghost take my phone up high but I still can't get a signal. Very soon everyone else realizes the same thing. We're sitting ducks out here. We can't call for help and we are miles away from the nearest road. The heroes should be on their way, and Faust can hit us the entire time. With Othala gone we are weak and slow with our casualties. But we have no choice but to try.

The twins and I can cover more ground so we go ahead with my ghosts barely keeping pace with their strides toward the nearest road that a map we had brought said was closest. Kaiser was in bad shape. He actually blacked out from the pain and was being carefully cradled by worried looking Fenja. We haven't been moving for very long when my phone starts to ring and we stop in our tracks. Menja and Fenja look at me expectantly as I look at my phone. It's the emergency line. I quickly open it and put it to my ear.

"Hello"

"You need to call Kaiser, we re under attack." The man is panicked and I can gunfire in the background. Then a sudden scream causes whoever it is to curse and I can hear more gunfire.

"Who is under attack? Who is this?"

"This is Gerry at the storehouse on the 16th street." He's practically screaming at me now. "Someone cut the power and they crashed a car through the wall. There are these fucking monsters trying to get at us! They managed to go straight for the gun stash, and we are running out of ammo to hold them off. We need help right now!"

That's when I hear something in the background growing louder. It sounds like a crowd chanting. I put my ear closer and I can hear chants of Faust over and over.

"Oh God", Gerry says. I hear gunfire and then the line goes dead. Menja and Fenja look like they heard it too.

I am about to make another call when I hear the same strange voice come in through the line.

"Hello Crusader. I want you to pass a message to Kaiser when he wakes up. I used a variant of Platupus venom that is going to give him a heightened sense of pain for a few weeks. It should hopefully wear off by then, but he will be in constant pain for awhile. Tell Kaiser and the rest of your fucking cowards that this is my city. I am the rats in the walls, the birds in the sky, and the stranger on your corner. I am always watching you. I will be seeing all of you very, very, soon." Then the line goes dead.

All I can think is, " _Shit_ ".

* * *

Tarou Jirou or Tar to his friends was having a bad day. He had been woken up really early and yelled at by his boss that his quota was low this month. He got to hear all kinds of ill thought out verbal abuse for ten minutes about how inadequate he was and how he needed to make sure his dealers shaped up.

Tar really hated his boss. The only reason he had been promoted was because he had triggered. The fact that he was a young uneducated idiot, who knew absolutely nothing about management or money made things worse. He had gone to college for business and had seen the potential for money to be made working for the Asian Bad Boys or the ABB. Thanks to his expertise he had been promoted and made his group of dealers the most profitable in the docks. Considering the Brockton was considered by many to be the heroin capital of the United States that said a lot.

But things had gotten a little harder recently. There was more competition from the Teeth who had started to bring in extremely cheap meth and heroin, which was cutting into their profits despite the fact that they now owned the docks. There were two new heroes who had shown up and started to go after his dealers. Though he had managed to fend them off without too much trouble, it was eating into his profit margins. Some asshole that could time travel, and a cunt that kept coming back no matter how many times they killed her.

Did his boss understand or care? Nope, all the high asshole knew was that there was less money than last month, and that he looked bad for it. It galled Tar that he had to listen to some uneducated 20-year-old asshole whose only ability was weakening whatever he looked at. Of course the lazy fuck would get a power that let me just have to look at someone for it too work, and then bitch about it to whoever wanted to listen.

The news that the Butcher might be heading back to Brockton had made his day worse. That meant he had to deal with all his soldiers asking for more money in compensation since there was almost certain to be a fight from the Teeth when she showed up. So he could expect dozens of phone calls in his immediate future. He also had to deal with arranging for a few hard to find mechanical parts for Bakuda, which meant he had to talk to her.

She scared Tar with the look in her eyes. She was very much like the bombs she made. Strange, intimidating, and you didn't know what set her off. She found any excuse to hurt people, and as long as she didn't kill them, Lung didn't care what she did. She had used some kind of pain tech on him just so he would know what it felt like if he didn't do exactly what she said. The fact that he was always polite, never looked her in the eye, and did a good job getting what she needed meant she often preferred to work with him to his detriment.

It wasn't all bad though. No matter what his boss said, he was a rising star in the gang. Lung himself had asked him to look at their finances since he was one of the few educated members of the gang. He had always been good at calculation and he was almost certainly going to move up the next time things were reorganized. He was also making ridiculously good money. It was a lot more money that he ever would have made legally. Despite his girlfriend giving him a hard time, he really didn't need her. It was easy to get cheap pussy from girls who knew who he was, or for free from a few of the brothels where a few of prettier immigrants had to pay back what they owed.

Tar took his time getting dressed. The clouds looked ugly and there was a high chance of rain. He dressed in a regular coat and carefully checked to make sure his gun was in good working order. He didn't dress in red and green since he tried to keep a low profile. While the chances were weak that someone would look twice at him, it was better to have insurance just in case. The Teeth were the Teeth, and Accord was more active when he got new parahumans to test them out. Tar's operations were close to his border, but Accord usually did not care too much about territory.

Tar disliked walking down the docks during the day. He had always been a night owl, and it was easier to see the desperation during the day. With the exception of the pier for tourists, the docks had seen better days. Dilapidated buildings, homeless, and decay everywhere you looked. Most of the people were worried about the upcoming strike to close the docks in response to the governor's bill. Tar had lived through Leviathan's attack, and he knew what riots looked like. He planned to be holding up in one of their safe houses if things got too heated. He never forgot the woman who was beaten by police in Japan during a nasty nationalist riot. She had triggered and somehow flayed them alive before she was quickly shot. That had been the incident that had finally convinced him to leave Japan for greener pastures.

Tar slowly started to make his rounds. While he usually called, he found it useful to do visual inspections and talk to his dealers face to face. None of them were stupid enough to try and steal from the ABB, Lung and Bakuda had made it quite clear what happened to those that did. He had personally got rid of any dealers that touched their own product. There were plenty of people who wanted to take their place after all. He also gave an occasional nod to a few of their lookouts hanging out on steps or street corners. He always paid them well, since they were the gang's early warning system in case of a raid. They had an important duty to call and warn us, and fire on anyone who showed up. We currently lacked heavy weaponry to deal with Spree if he showed up, but Bakuda was currently working on a simple to grenade to use if they or the Empire tried to raid again.

Tar sighed as it started to rain. He opened up his umbrella and kept walking. He could have taken a car, but he was trying to lose weight and put on some muscle. The ABB didn't like weaklings, no matter how smart they were. He was making progress, but it was slow. Bakuda had seen his step counter on his belt and offered to help him. He had politely declined, and silently prayed that Bakuda was not interested in him. Knowing her, she would try to light his fat on fire or something.

Tar hated the rain. It meant fewer people would go to buy, and that meant they would be short today. Nearing the second stop, he carefully called out to his men in Chinese, and English to ask them how they were doing. Ping was still living with his mother, and he was just about ready to become a dealer. Tar had bought him books he had to read, and he intended to test him on them later. He had made it clear that he wouldn't be a dealer if he didn't pass.

Walking along the rain suddenly started to really start come down hard. Despite his umbrella he was starting to get wet and he took refuge under an alcove in an alley until the rain let up a little. He was checking his phone to make sure it wasn't wet when he first saw him.

He was hard to see hiding in the shadow of the alley. It was too dark to see his face, but the man was standing in the middle of the alley and looking straight at Tar. He was disgustingly skinny, and wearing some type of trench coat. He did not look that tough, but something about him set Tar on edge. He carefully put his hand on the gun and stared him down. The man did nothing but stand there. After a minute or so, Tar decided to find somewhere else to take shelter.

You could never be too careful in this city. There were always rumors of weird shit happening. He had heard the rumors of a homeless woman who could turn into snakes and had supposedly attacked a few of the Teeth. There were also rumors about a gang of organ thieves operating in the city. You'd be having a drink that was spiked and later wake up in a bathtub full of ice, missing your liver. Tar was sure it was all bullshit, but it was better safe than sorry.

Tar quickly decided that this would be his last stop for the day. He'd borrow a car and head back home. No one was going to be doing much business in this weather, and it would take too long to walk back. He called ahead and made arrangements with Lao to borrow the company car. It was a little too ostentatious for his tastes, but beggars can't be choosers. Lao said he'd be waiting with it in front of the pawnshop he owned.

It took him almost five minutes before he realized he was being followed. He had just had a feeling of being watched, turned around, and there he was. The guy from the alley was back. He was walking at a calm pace in the heavy rain until he saw that Tar had stopped moving and stood still looking straight at him.

Tar felt his adrenaline and fear start to rise as he put his hand on his gun and pullet out his phone. He never took his eyes off the man in the rain. He opened it up and quick dialed Lao's number, unsure if he should run or not. He was only two blocks away, but it might be better for Lao to get the men stationed nearby and drive to him. He reacted with shock when he realized the phone wasn't dialing and quickly glanced down at his screen. He didn't have any bars. But that was impossible; he had just called Lao less than a minute ago.

The man in the rain suddenly started to walk again at a slow pace. Tar pulled out his gun and started to walk quickly in the other direction, while taking occasional glances behind him. The man was too far away for Tar to hit, and he wasn't the best shot. No, Tar thought, it would be better to just get to Lao's. There were men on lookout right across from the pawnshop and they would have guns.

Tar was trying to stay focused and kept walking as a brisk pace. The man behind him would speed up or slow down depending on how fast he went. He never tried to close the distance, and then started to make a loud clicking noise. It reminded Tar of a street musician he had seen once who made noises with spoons on his shoe. He could now hear a constant click, click, click that could barely be heard over the rain.

Tar was just about to ditch his umbrella and run when the clicking stopped. He turned around and the man was gone. Tar raised his gun and carefully scanned around but he was nowhere to be seen. Tar kept his hand on his gun despite putting it back in his holster. He took deep breaths for a few minutes while waiting to see if the man came back. He was still on edge, but slowly felt himself relax, as it seemed the man was gone. Lao's should be just around the corner after one more block.

He pushed the button for the crosswalk and debated what he should do. Should he tell someone that he had been followed? Thinking about it now made it seem so stupid. A thin man in a trench coat walked behind you while clicking scared you? He'd embellish just a little so that two men were following him and report it to his boss. They'd probably make sure he had guards and that he used a car. Both of which seemed like great ideas. He was working on a good lie when he heard the clicking again right in front of him.

Right across the street was the same skinny man in the coat. But he could get a closer look now and it looked like he was bald and wearing a detailed mask that had a bust of someone's face. Tar started to panic when he recognized that it was his own face. The man then twisted his head around in a complete circle, and started to make a weird wheezing noise. It took Tar a few seconds to realize he was laughing.

Tar turned and ran as fast as he could. He threw the umbrella to the side and tried to get his gun out. Behind him he could the clicking getting closer, and he didn't dare look. He hadn't noticed before but there wasn't anyone else on the street. He wasn't sure how long he ran, but he managed to get his gun out and turn around. He pointed it at the man and saw him stop.

"That's right", Tar shouted. "You fuck with me, you die."

"You fuck with me you die". Tar was momentarily confused. That was his voice but he hadn't said it. He turned around and saw another man no less than twenty feet away. He was the exact same as the first, all the way down the bust of his face. But he was swaying back and forth.

"You fuck with me you die. You fuck with me you die. You fuck with me you die." He just kept repeating it like a parrot but it was in his own voice. Then the first man started to say it and when Tar looked back he started to scream.

The man had split his face open and fallen to the ground with the halves of his face ending in new legs. His coat had opened up and turned into wings, and new sharp looking arms appeared. A bug's head had come out of the chest, and it had a long and sharp looking stinger in its face. It looked like a cross between a cockroach and those green insects they had in one of the Chinese martial arts places. It started to make a rapid faced clicking noise before it started to scream exactly as he just had.

Tar lost it. He screamed and fired over and over again with the pistol sounding shockingly loud. The bullets hit it and it started to go into a frenzy of movement, twisting back and forth as it moved forward and screamed in Tar's voice. Tar turned to the second monster, but it just stayed still where it was and kept repeating his scream. Tar fired the rest of his clip into it as he ran for the nearby alley.

Tar didn't dare to look back but he was breathing hard as he managed to reload a fresh clip and pointed his gun at the entrance to the alley. He could hear them start to click but they didn't appear. Why weren't they going after him? Could they be scared of the gun? Tar slowly backed up into the alley, before he recognized it as being the very first one he had sought shelter in no more than a few minutes ago. He kept his gun trained on the entrance. They'd have no room to dodge if they came after him in here.

Tar suddenly felt a sharp pain in his leg and screamed as he fell to the floor. He turned and saw some type of snake had bitten him. It was dark green and had oversized fangs. It bit him again as Tar pointed his gun and managed to hit it when he fired. With growing horror, Tar realized he could barely move. He struggled to push himself up when he felt another bit on his other leg and Tar felt back down paralyzed. His eyes darted back and forth as he heard movement behind him. He felt something grab his legs and start to drag him.

No, No, No, NO, NO, NO. Tar tried to scream as he was dragged down the alley by something strong, but he couldn't move. The last sight he saw before the darkness took him was the bug thing in the light of the tunnel looking at him.

* * *

Tar groggily opened his eyes. His body hurt and he couldn't move his arms. It took him a few minutes to realize he was strapped down to some kind of upright table. He tried to see but there was a powerful light shining down on his face. He couldn't see anything but he could hear movement.

Tar tried desperately to keep it together. Whoever had taken him, obviously didn't want to kill him. But he was so scared and struggling not to have a panic attack. Despite himself he started to scream as he heard what sounded like something was eating meat, his mind filled with horrible possibilities.

"I see you are awake Mr. Jirou". Tar twisted his head around. The voice sounded like it had come from all around him. It was like there were a dozen people speaking at once, with everything from old men to young girls speaking in perfect unison.

Tar tried to speak but found he couldn't. He started to cry in fear when he realized his voice was gone.

"Now, now Mr. Jirou, there is no point to that." the voice said. "You will speak only when I allow it. Now I am going to ask you some question Mr. Jirou. If you answer me honestly and to the best of your abilities, we won't have any problems. I have a new procedure that should keep your short-term memories from going into long-term storage. So if you answer all my questions, and don't lie to me, then you are going to wake up safe and sound in your bed. With everything seeming like a bad dream."

"But if you lie to me Mr. Jirou, we are going to have problems. I can look directly into your brain, and I will know if you try to lie. I promise you that if you do lie to me, you are going to remember the next hour every waking moment for the rest of your natural life. Do we have an understanding?"

Tar quickly nodded his head.

"Good. Now Mr. Jirou, I want you tell me everything you know about the ABB. Dealers, schedules, addresses, faces, personalities, everything. I also advise you that you speak quickly when I give your voice back. Now don't worry Mr. Jirou, this won't hurt a bit."

Tar awoke with start. He quickly started to feel around his head but didn't feel a scar. He sighed in relief.

It had just been a bad dream.

* * *

Dinah Alcott was having another restless sleep. She had been having nightmares every night and her parents were getting worried. It had gotten to the point that they were considering taking her to a therapist because of how strange her behavior had been lately. She didn't want to do anything but stay in her room.

Dinah dreamt of a strange white snake that squeezed around her and whispered sweet nothings into her ear. She pictured a giant covered in screaming mouths, and a vast ocean that threatened to drown her. No matter what she did, she couldn't get away.

But for the first time, something new had started to show up. She saw a strange tree on a hill. It was huge, so high that she could barely see the top. Closer inspection revealed a figure connected to it. She was carved from wood and was growing beautiful flowers that on closer inspection were filled with teeth and flesh. She wasn't sure why but she found herself at peace beneath the shade.

For the first time in weeks, Dinah Alcott slept soundly.

* * *

Far away, a figure sat engrossed at a map of the docks. She had a strange mask. Her mind reached far and wide touching various strange looking animals connected to machines. The construction of her lab, and her network was almost complete. Her drones were built to be small and hidden to spy from the sky. Her mapping of the docks would be finished by the end of the week. She would wait until she knew how foot traffic moved better before she started building the hidden maintenance and feeding stations for her Lusus.

She was distracted from her thoughts by an alert from one of her birds. A group of men wearing red and green were following close behind one her mimic models. She assumed direct control of it and gave instructions for two other mimics hidden on nearby rooftops to move behind them. The gang members were armed with knives and a pipe but had no visible guns. They strutted and puffed up their chests. They felt so confident here in the middle of their territory. They were completely unaware of what was about to happen.

Taylor Hebert smiled.

End Part 1

Upcoming

Part 2- Warlord

Authors Note: So that is part 1 or the prelude. I have 5 parts planned, though they are all going to be a quite a bit longer. My favorite part of Worm was when Taylor was a warlord trying to help people in the city. This story essentially has that happening early. She won't be joining anyone else here. She is strong enough to stand as her own faction and she will be a long time enemy with the other gangs. Taylor will be powerful, but far from invincible. The city is going to have a few interesting reactions to a sort of heroic Nilbog. Hope you guys keep reading, and are at least partly entertained.


	6. 2-1

Seed 2-1

I stood over the head of the Lusus and carefully modified the implants. One of the older humanoid or HX Lusus held my mask for me wile I worked. The mask narrowed my field of vision, and my new eyes took everything in despite the back of the truck having very little light.

I had never worked with bear DNA before yesterday, and the large bear Lusus wasn't fully connecting to the network through its implants. It needed to be able to share the processing power of the central server to do more than hide or defend it self for tonight's opening attack against the ABB.

There was a small click and the S.C.I.O.N. pinged as I suddenly took full control of it. I made it stand up and stretch to test its response time and make sure there was no lag.  
Satisfied, I began to close the wound and opened the back of the truck to let it out. It looked like a skinny grizzly bear without its fur, but with a black thickened hide and much tougher bones. It sauntered out to the alley and the hiding place my helper monkeys had prepared for it earlier. If all went according to plan, it'd be a nasty surprise for one of the ABB's parahumans.

One of the Lusus with hands and thumbs closed the door and the convoy started up again. There was a slight tremor as the truck started to move, but it barely affected me with the improved balance provided by my new spine. I put my mask back on and tested it to make sure it was still providing oxygen as otherwise it got too stuffy after a while.

It was just deserted enough to finish some last minute movements of Lusus around. No one was around to notice anything weird about strange human or animal shaped things going in and out the back of trucks or the fact that the drivers all had the same face. I actually did find a use for that stupid pen Mr. Gladly gave me.

My convoy moved carefully through the docks. With all the cargo coming to and fro from the ships, no one looked twice at three non-nondescript trucks even at this hour.

I felt the bear leave my direct control as we passed the three-block mark. I probably could have increased the range of what I could directly feel or control, but not without a large amount of sentient minds connecting to the central server like Overmind's network. Her original version was designed to increase her own thinker abilities through adding the processing power of her soldiers and tech. While my version did the exact opposite by working to increase what my Lusus could do.

Through the control towers the Lusus could "share" processing power with each other, and with the central server made up of cloned grey matter. By distributing low-level processes like motor control and visual identification, they freed up bandwidth for higher reasoning and more complex thought. This also allowed me to control them directly when nearby.

Overmind's tech had also given me several fringe benefits that I hadn't foreseen. The self-driving cars had been so easy to make, I wondered why they never caught on except in Silicon Valley. It was nice to relax while the truck went on its way. The S.C.I.O.N beeped me a reminder of the time while continuing to play a soothing beat.

I felt my attention shift to the rear most truck as we neared my next stop. A hidden trapdoor opened up and my helper monkeys dropped down and headed to the nearby building. The drone overhead showed no one nearby on infrared. They quickly scaled up the side of the building to put the finishing touches on the relay tower. I was particularly proud of their little tool vests.

They were close enough from the truck to control them and I used their hands to finish the tower, and check the connection to the central server. When it was done, almost the entire dock would be in my network's sphere of influence. They finished and moved them back to the truck and we got moving again to my next stop.

The drones swept over my route and confirmed no issues as we drove to the unknowing informant's apartment. The facial recognition software on the drones pinged me an alert and the S.C.I.O.N. displayed the video through my optical nerves. A known drug dealer, and he was one of Shin's guys according to my intelligence data. I ignored him for now, but marked his current location.

The trucks stopped two blocks away, and I released the helper monkeys to travel to the apartment building. They'd break in, open up his cell to copy the SIM card, and place a tracker in his shoe.

Thanks to my intelligence interrogations I now knew who the ABB dealers were, and where they tended to operate. But I had been quite surprised at how sophisticated and secretive they kept their operations. Despite interrogating several individuals they didn't have too much knowledge of operations or where drugs were manufactured. Everything was compartmentalized, which had ruined my timetable as I assumed gaining intelligence would be relatively easy.

When I asked why they went to such lengths, they only answered "Coil".

Coil was the most mysterious and moral for lack of a better term of the gang leaders. He was some type of high-end thinker who hired normal human mercenaries and armed them with tinker equipment, though rumors on PHO were that several of his mercenaries were minor thinkers themselves.

He was in an alliance with Accord whose intelligence was thought to increase with the complexity of the issue. It made him great at coming up with detailed plans and counterattacks. Accord seemed to make his money through legitimate businesses, and crime decreased significantly after he took over his territory. Though he was also a known as a parahuman trafficker and there were many reports of people disappearing in his territory.

Thankfully neither of them seemed interested in trying to expand what they controlled. Back when the Teeth ran the docks, the ABB fought Coil all the time to try and expand downtown, but he largely left them alone after they stopped attacking him.

Coil and Accord had once been seen as the weakest of groups back in the days of the Marquis and the newly immigrant Chain Gang from Boston, but that had changed after they managed to stop the last Butcher. They mostly fought the Empire, and the Teeth since both of them kept trying to expand into their territory.

Due to all the added secrecy I had decided to change my plans. I would not be attacking every dealer just yet. I wanted to give the illusion that my range and numbers were smaller than they were until I was ready. My new plan involved attacking the docks section-by-section, and I would let a few of the dealers think they got away

That let me track them to their homes, bug their phones, and infiltrate the higher-ups. I'd build up a list of who the important personnel were, where all their locations were, and everything I could find out about their parahumans.

Once I had the locations, I'd start hiding and building up my forces with specific programing to attack those locations with a list of targets. That way I wouldn't have to constantly travel around directing everything in my personal range. I wanted to take them down in one devastating strike that they would not recover from.

Until then, I'd only occasionally hit a big target of theirs while spying on it and trying to find others. While doing that, I would have the drones map and scan the docks from up high to build a register of faces, movements, and vehicles.

I wasn't going to use the drones as mobile defense platforms as they were more useful to me if no one knew they were there. I also wanted to build a few relay drones as a mobile emergency network but they were so complicated and expensive I had decided to put them off until I planned to start raiding the other gangs after I took over the docks.

I felt the monkeys finish their work, and ordered them to return to their hiding place and enter hibernation. With that all my preparations for tonight were complete.

I opened up my mind and identified two large groups of ABB in the general area through the drones and my birds. About a dozen walking down the street a block over, and thirty-eight others in the nearby warehouse, which I had previously identified as a drug lab. I started gathering the Lusus nearby from their hiding spots in the alleys and abandoned buildings.

I only had one Lusus close enough to ambush the dozen walking down the street, but it was fine if I didn't get them all. The purpose of tonight was to confirm my existence from rumor, and see how they reacted when I put pressure on them.

The nearby Lusus was one of my new newer HX models. I had designed it to have extremely flexible ligaments and for its body to act like a shock absorber from kinetic impacts. The particular unit nearby also had a secret weapon for emergencies I had added in a fit of whimsy. It was dressed as a homeless man and in hibernation behind the dumpster. I waited until the first group was past and then surged it forward.

One of the guys in the back heard the running and turned around just in time to be kicked in the stomach and fly backward in a nearby-parked car. His buddies reacted and moved forward to grab my Lusus as it turned and punched another causing him to fall to the ground.

I jumped the Lusus back as another guy took a swing at him and head butted him in retaliation. The Lusus was too fast for everyone to hit at once and their punches didn't do much while its return punches were knocking them down hard. One of the them yelled an order and they tackled and dog piled it on the ground. Once they were all up close I released the secret weapon.

The chemical I had designed from a skunk's odor poured out from the glands of the Lusus all around it in a large spray. The people on it started to heave and cough as they got up and ran away. I took the time to keep one from standing up, and got him into an arm lock before breaking the arm. One of them had started to vomit and dry heave on their knees. I stepped on his back driving him into the group and threw the Lusus sideways to knock a group of three into the wall.

My Lusus bounced up before they did and I made sure it used powerful directed punches on the men on the ground while avoiding the head. The Lusus were now well programmed enough that they would never kill humans even without the extra processing power of the network.

One of the men farthest from the smell started to pull out a gun, and I signaled the Lusus to rush at him. I felt it take three bullets to the chest but it didn't hit anything vital. The guy with the gun realized a second too late that he should have run as the Lusus went into a flying jump kick that sent the man sailing into the street.

It then turned and went back for the rest of the men who realized what it was from the green blood covering its clothes. They scattered and I ordered it into hunting mode before it left my range. It would now chase and attack any ABB it detected until it was killed or had no more enemies before trying to find a place to hide.

I ordered the trucks to change positions so that the warehouse and the second group were in the middle of my range. I ordered one of the nearby Lusus to move toward my prepared battering ram that used to belong to a nearby dealer. It calmly opened the door, and put on its seat belt. The alarm activated and it started to drive to the warehouse.

I carefully had it maneuver and turn the car around so that it faced the front of the warehouse. Two men that looked like they were guards had guns out. They stared warily at the car. I had it rev the engines and ordered the Lusus to floor it.

It drove full speed heading right for them. Both of the guards' start yelling and shooting and they even mange hit the Lusus a few times through the glass. But a few bullets aren't going to stop it, especially now that the car is going full tilt. They dive out of the way as it plows through the wall and I see people inside reacting with shock and alarm before I lose the connection as the head hits the dashboard.

I observe through the eyes of one my birds looking through the windows. It seems most of the group is composed of workers in their underwear with a few guards stationed nearby. The guards are cautiously moving toward it and that is when I order the snakes inside to start rattling. The guards freeze and I let them see the snakes as they start to swarm out of the bottom of the car before I have the helper monkey on the roof cut the power. That is when the screaming starts.

The two guards at the front are looking at the hole in the wall and jump back when they hear the yelling. They keep looking into the darkened space, which is why they do not see the mimics silently moving toward them. I decide to see how long it takes them to notice, and two of the mimics stand directly behind them without making a noise.

After almost a minute, one of the guards finally turns around and bumps into one of them and for half a second he looks confused. There there is a moment of dawning comprehension before he yells and stumbles back. Which is when I order the mimics to take them. They envelope them in their wings and limbs before injecting them with my latest version of venom that works faster to paralyze.

Inside people are panicking as the rattling continues to spread, and they make a break for the back. A few of the stupider or more desperate guards have started firing at the floor. The muzzle flashes illuminates the tide of snakes and most make a run for it. I can feel the snakes biting at least a few of them as they trip in the dark.

One of the guards is looking frantically for an escape route with a flashlight. As the screaming started going silent, he gets a desperate look on his face while glancing at the window. It took him several seconds to build up the courage, but he makes a run for it after grabbing a nearby coat. He wraps it around himself and dives head first through the glass before crashing through the ground.

I cursed and activated the emergency response drone to go to his location. Going through windows isn't like the movies. You can easily hurt or kill yourself. I move the helper monkey to his location, and curse again when I see all the blood coming from his neck. I have the monkey reach in and pinch the artery shut while the mimics hold him down. I have them tell him to not move, though he starts trying to scream when he sees them. With a sigh, I have them the mimics inject him and I would reiterate again that I am going to heal him. He continues to try and gurgle something as she stops struggling.

The drone arrives kicking up trash, and the three medical spiders drop off and hurry forward. I had made my spiders out of clear plastic to better differentiate them from Bonesaw's. They quickly climb over the man who seems a tad scared and start to treat him. They sew the wound closed, scan his body for other pieces of glass, and inject him with a pain reliever. I have the Mimic hold him down as they break his leg, and autodial 911.

The spiders' head back to the drone just as I get an alert from another in the sky confirming somebody moving over the roofs.

Finally. One of the ABB's parahumans has shown up. Looking through the drone's camera it looks like Oboro from the baldhead. Oboro was a six on the Brute scale with a one in the Mover and Breaker scales according to the PRT's power ratings.

He wore a sort of black robe similar to a monk with a large red Japanese character emblazoned on the back. His mask looked like pictures I had seen of old samurai masks but left room to show his baldhead and thick moustache. From what I remember from Aristotle's file, his power involved a small energy field around him that essentially copied his movements and increases the force of them while also decreasing the force of things entering it. His field also let him decrease the weight his body put on him and whatever he touched making him very light when he wanted to be so he could climb walls and jump with little effort. His brute rating was one higher than normal due to his expertise with Chinese Kenpo.

The convoy started up again and I instructed the trucks to move a little faster. The plan was to cut Oboro off before he could link up with other ABB members. I wanted to observe him fight my Lusus one on one if possible.

Oboro was still running across the rooftop and making fifteen foot jumps between them with ease. I moved two mimics to a building east of him and had them start laughing. If I can get him to the ground, my bear Lusus can hit him head on.

Oboro stops and looks at the mimics. He looks ridiculous with the large moustache hanging out of his mask. He seems to weigh his options for a bit before deciding to fight them. He takes a running leap and clears the street. He lands with a roll and charges at them as they start shrieking as high-pitched as I could make them.

I also order two more of my shock absorber HX models to start climbing the nearby fire escape. If they can get him in a chokehold, he might not be able to leverage his strength.

The mimics stop pretending and rush him as one. I laugh out loud as he reacts in shock. He still looks a little shaken but manages to hit one of them just as they start to envelop him. It pushes it back and crushes part of its light chest.

I can't seem to get a hold on him with the mimics. Their limbs can't penetrate his robe and his strikes force me have the mimics keep their distance so they aren't destroyed.

He suddenly jumps forward and puts his whole body into a two-step strike with a cry crushing the head of the hurt one, and throwing the other back. It takes to the air and goes right back at him. He stands his ground and stops the charge cold while throwing it over his head. I struggle for it to move, but it manages to rip off one of its arms and the injector of the other while it moves in a frenzy trying to hit him. But the light limbs aren't doing much damage thanks to his field. He yells some kind of cry and smashes its head. But jumps beck in shock as it keeps moving. I place it toward the edge and hope he takes the bait with the two HX models waiting on the fire escape.

He yells in triumph and surprises me when jumps straight up into the air and slams down on the mimic with both legs and cracking part of the roof. Thought the triumph changes to shock as he is pulled down on to the fire escape by the HX models and a chaotic melee ensues. His field makes him too strong and the HX too slow for them to get a good hold on him, but they are too close for him to give a really powerful punch. The ones that hit are absorbed like they were designed to.

I manage for one of them to get his arms around Oboro's neck and it starts squeezing, though I can't put too much force on his body with his stupid field. The other begins to wail at his head as fast as I can move its arms. He says his war cry and hits the fire escape with his leg. It causes it to lurch making the Lusus stumble but the one on his back manages to hold on. Emboldened, Oboro aims for the connections to the wall and the fire escape disconnects form the top and starts to tip over.

The balance of the HX is not good enough to compensate and they lose their footing. Oboro manages to jumps up as it falls and grabs a nearby air conditioner. The air conditioner seems fine despite how big he is compared to it.

The Lusus fall to the ground as the fire escape crashes around them. One has a broken arm, but I take pride in the fact that they are remarkably intact. Oboro falls back down and squishes the body of one of them. Can he increase his weight? He roars in triumph and I cue the bear.

I laugh hysterically as the bear barrels into him from behind sending head over heels a fair distance. He manages to look up as it runs at him. If I can get it on top of him, the weight should incapacitate him. If he could use his field to negate the weight of other living things he would have just thrown my Lusus or the mimics far more easily.

I have it roar in his face, but credit where it is due; he roars right back and punches it just as it reaches him. It rocks the head and a few teeth away but it was moving too fast to negate his momentum and he wheezes as it falls on him.

There is some lag due to the the head wound as I have the bear raise up and start punching in a very un bear like manner. He puts his arms up and manages to negate most of the force, but the punches are adding up. He tries to roll away but I just had the bear grapple and squeeze him.

I could have just bitten his neck, but that could kill him. So I have the remaining HX move over and press down on his throat with a knee. I'm curious how long it will take him to lose consciousness with his field.

Before I can congratulate myself I suddenly lose my connection to the bear, and the HX turns and sees a knife through its eye held by Oni Lee before it starts to crumble and I feel two more knives enter the HX through its ears. I move a nearby bird and watch Lee as he starts to cut the head off the bear before it starts to melt. He seems strangely wooden and unconcerned, but Oboro reacts with disgust. He doesn't help Oboro up and instead looks down and says something. Oboro looks furious, but manages to stand up and coughing out the remains of the bear. Then Lee turns and disappears.

I decide to move on, I have twelve more areas of the docks to visit and I give the order for half of the hidden Lusus in the docks to enter hunter mode. They will lose, but I can always replace them later on.

I enjoy the openness of my lab after staying in that stuffy truck all night. My mask is planted in a special spot nearby, and I have a warm cup of tea in my hands. My works station is lit up with screens showing various angles of the fights from the camera feeds of the birds and the drones.

It had been an educational and productive night. I had hit twenty-seven dealers, five large groups of ABB, and had some new people to spy on after the warehouse was hit. I did lose more Lusus than I had planned since Lung had personally started sweeping the alleys with the other parahumans to root out them out. Three out of four were dead, but I had enjoyed enraging him when the Lusus ran from him like they were programmed to and went after normal ABB members.

Though Lung really wasn't the problem. He couldn't be everywhere. No the real issue were the guns the ABB had and their movers. I had lost most of my Lusus to simple concentrated arms fire. Once the ABB knew I was in the area, it was hard to take them by surprise. My attempts to isolate and trap them had failed due to Oni Lee and Boli Dun.

Lee acted like a fast response unit. Appearing where he was needed and vanishing to ambush Lusus that were not under my direct control. Boli Dun had been even more of an issue. Her portals transported Lung and Oboro quickly over the battlefield since they were tough enough to take the pressure from them. She was also almost impossible to hit. She reacted too fast before the Lusus could get to her, and seemed unaffected when she transported herself.

I looked over the message Aristotle had sent me on their personal files.

From: ARI532u1 .com  
To: GreenHands .com

 _Boli Dun- Real name Wei Bai  
Shaker 8, Mover 2, Thinker 1_

 _Chinese national who was part of the original Yangban before they started separating powers. Quit and went into hiding after Behemoth hit Beijing and the civil war started. She came to America to try and earn money to bring her extended family here and agreed to work for Lung in exchange. Very short, with a dancers build, and she has just become a young grandmother._

 _She can create large force fields that look like large panes of glass in her line of sight. They have two modes, one is your standard solid force field, and the second can act like portals between each other. While she can transport people through them, she usually only transports Lung as the space between portals are very cold and crushing. Lung has used her portals as a punishment to give you an idea. So far there has yet to be a ranged attack that can't be blocked or redirected in some way by her, but she does have limit of three force fields up at one time. My gut tells me she also has a minor thinker rating for enhanced reflexes._

 _She doesn't show much of a personality and doesn't seem to want to be a cape. She would probably leave if you could guarantee safety for her family. She never talks unless spoken to, and does not have an official name. Her name was given by the PRT. She acts as Lung's bodyguard to protect him while he bulks up and never leave Lung's side while wearing one of his old masks._

 _Kamaitachi. – Real name Haneul Jin  
Shaker 7_

 _Has a narrow build, but has put a lot of weight on it recently giving him a large gut combined with his large height. He was part of a previous Korean gang which was defeated and absorbed by Lung. Telekinetic Wind cape. –shifter/mover. Has a powerful telekinetic wind that is powerful over a wide area but he is not too precise with it as he can only push or pull. Has shown the ability to use his power over him in a kind of bubble that can deflect attacks but leaves him stuck for awhile as it takes him time to stop it. He also has to spend time winding up his power periodically to make more wind. He is vulnerable during those times._

 _Hates Lung and other Japanese members of the gang. He acts arrogant and entitled to those around him and he is not well liked. He was the only parahuman in his gang. Would probably be willing to give you information for the right price as long as it isn't traced back to him._

 _Oboro- Real name unknown  
Brute 6 Mover 1, Breaker 1_

 _Has been a loyal follow of Lung for at least two years. Wears a very stupid mask that shows his bald head, and lets his log moustache hang out. Is not very imaginative or intelligent. Tends to charge straight at nearest enemies without thinking, and has no personal life to speak of._

 _Has a small energy field around him that essentially copies his movements and increases the force of them while also decreasing the force of things entering it. His field lets him decrease his weight on himself and objects he touches. This lets him move very quickly and he can climb walls with little effort. Is more dangerous than is ratings suggest as he has been practicing Chinese Kenpo for years for hours every day, as he never gets tired._

 _Gorgon also known as Jagan. Real name is unknown_

 _Height, Weight, and general description are unknown. Powers are reportedly to make something temporarily and progressively weaker/slower and stronger/faster the longer he stares at something. He is new, so there is not too much information on him._

 _A word of advice. Be careful. I can tell you are going to stir up the hornets nest and remember that for every action there is an equal or opposite reaction. Lung tends to gather his forces after a major attack and strikes out in a large war party that follows his lead. Don't forget I have confirmation. Lung fought off Leviathan._

I know I shouldn't trust Aristotle, but we had sort of become partners. I at least trusted that he liked the money he earned acting as the middleman for the organ farm. He was a little more open, and even jokey compared to the last few months. He no longer charged me for information.

Based off Aristotle, it was estimated that there were around 1,300 ABB gang members in the city, with most packed in the docks. Most of their income came from drugs, "massage" parlors, and smuggling. They also charged protection money and had several moving gambling dens.

Going over my data and the files, I decide I'm going to need some new Lusus. I need a model with a ranged attack to deal with their movers and slow down Lung. Boli Dun can move and react too fast for my Lusus to get near her. But If I can force her to have to constantly block something, she wouldn't be nearly as effective. I'd like to offer safety for her family, but I can't guarantee it just yet.

It was going to take time to put the ABB out of commission, and strengthened my hold on the docks. Since making another central server didn't look feasible for the moment, the docks were going to be my home base for the time being.

I take a big gulp and then get up to head toward the glass tubes. My schedule has a few extra hours for cutting seeds, since Dad is probably going to sleep in for once after celebrating with Kurt and Lacey. The dockworkers were in a bit of a festive mood ever since the governor's bill had been defeated to the media and everyone's surprise.

It had seemed like a sure thing, but the votes weren't enough to pass and the governor had been backpedaling ever since. The Union and dad got a lot of credit for the victory, and it gave me warm feelings in my heart to see him so proud and happy.

I took control of two other HX models nearby and they locked in step behind me. I had designed this particular model to help me build on a much larger scale. They allowed me to build, repair, and design large amounts of Overmind's implants by being in several places at once.

The S.C.I.O.N. reacted to my thoughts and the holographic computer turned on as I started researching various animals with powerful ranged attacks. The poison glue of certain termites looked promising, or perhaps I could use a spider model to make traps with web. Actually that gives me an idea for using spider silk for my costume. I remember reading it was stronger than Kevlar.

The robotic arms pick my samples, add them to the seed, and cause an electric charge to start the process. In one tube the projected seed growth paths are put on display for how the large termite will look if allowed to fully grow. In the other tube I decided to grow a cow with some spider genes added so I can have enough protein to use for possible upgrades to my costume through its milk.

That done I leave the HX models so I can still observe the new growths and walk to my latest two clones of Othala. She had confirmed that she did have a secondary power that she told no one about. It had taken a little convincing, but I found out what I needed before I sent her to the PRT office in New York. She had a minor master effect with those she gave powers to. The more they used her powers, the more likely they were to listen to her.

That was very similar to my portion of the original Butcher shard. It didn't allow me to just cause pain; I could also manipulate nerves to cause intense pleasure. My hypothesis was the original Butcher created the beginnings of the Teeth by building up an army of addicts with his power.

One of the clones was made using the hybrid method. It was a hybrid of the Butcher and Othala. It had the same motor skills deficiencies, and its brain did not work right when I tried to control it. It had taken me almost the entire week just to get it to stand. I had carefully mapped its brain and gone step by step to see what power it had, but hadn't had any luck until recently.

Just to see what would happen I removed the Corona Pollentia, and was surprised when it suddenly began to show active use of a power when the small wounds it had started to close. It seemed removing that part of the brain made its power use more instinctual. Sort of like a baby knowing how to suck or someone moving their hand away from a flame.

I had made several other hybrid clones, but this one was still the only one that had a viable power to use. It seemed to be able to give Othala's powers but only to itself. I had yet to figure out how to make it give itself something else beyond regeneration. Though it did give me some good ideas for self-healing Lusus in the future, my dream of an army of parahuman clones was still far off if was even possible.

This was evident by the other clone. Which was just a normal clone that was exactly like Othala in every way. It had a Corona Pollentia, and the same shape of the brain but showed no active power use. If I could figure out a way to give it a trigger event without having it kill a Butcher that could solve all my problems.

There were a few things I could try. Aristotle had offered to contact Toybox and get in touch with some kind of memory Tinker. Though I was skeptical and unsure if I wouldn't make it sentient if I improved its memories and thinking ability.

I could also try and give myself another power that would let me give powers to the Lusus. It would be a question of finding the right DNA sample, but I already had proof it was possible after my latest experiment.

When one Butcher collective killed another, no power transferred. But when I had a hybrid Butcher killed by a regular one, it did transfer. But the same brain issues resulted, and I had no interest in testing that on myself anytime soon.

Especially because I wasn't sure how much I was currently being affected by my new seeds as it was. My Strategic Command Integration and Outreach Node reacted to my thoughts, and I checked my diagnostics more from habit than anything. But again there had been no changes in brain chemistry besides that first night.

I had originally designed the extra implant to monitor my brain for abnormalities. But it was now also designed to periodically give me reminders to focus and make sure I thought things through if I got angry, since my temper had gotten worse.

I had made a few tweaks to my brain, and increased the size of certain parts with my medigel prototype to increase my empathy, and problems solving. But unfortunately it hadn't worked quite as much as I had hoped.

I still took a little too much pleasure in hurting people that deserved it. But beyond that and the bigger temper, I didn't notice any major effects. No voices in my head, no strange urges or tics. My sense of humor had improved according to dad, and I noticed the same thing. It was easier to laugh and I liked to laugh more. But that seemed an unusual response to the presence of two new partial seeds.

I don't think I have become a sociopath. I had gone over studies that had examined how sociopath's brains were different. Their brains didn't fire or react the same way to emotionally charged words like death, liar, or rape for example. While my own brain was now completely unique, it still triggered like it had from previous experiments.

Of course that could change in the future. I was now convinced that the Butcher seed had a very specific purpose in the grand experiment of parahumans. Its job was to spread conflict and trigger events, and help seeds to mature and reproduce. I was still unsure what happened to Butchers when their seeds matured. Did they reproduce and expand into others like normal?

I was a little worried, but I refused to let my paranoia and fears stop me anymore when I chose the name Faust. My name was a symbol and a reminder of what I had risked to make a difference. I would use my powers as I damned well pleased regardless of whatever was behind parahumans thought.

That had the been reason I designed the S.C.I.O.N. implant in the first place. It would periodically send me music, inspiring quotes, and even the sound of my mothers voice if it detected abnormal changes in my brain. Behavioral therapy with the right combination of drugs had shown in numerous studies that anger, depression, and unwanted thoughts could be controlled through practice.

I knew that seeds had some mind of their own and could influence the thought processes of the people they were connected to. So in response I was running a few experiments to see if I could somehow cut off or weaken that connection. The brain was the key since that was the seat of human consciousness, and the right implants could change how a seed connects to the brain. Hopefully the research might even lead to a way to temporarily weaken or even cut off a parahuman from their powers.


	7. 2-2

Seed 2-2

The ABB has been busy the last few days as they reacted to my presence. They have taken to traveling in large groups at night with all of them heavily armed. Thankfully they lack the heavier firepower of the Teeth or the Empire.

Groups are patrolling the alleys and inspecting old buildings to kill any Lusus they can find. The smarter dealers had moved indoors off the streets, while the more brave or stupid ones continued to deal the same way but have surrounded themselves with well armed body guards in nearby cars.

There efforts were annoyingly effective in many ways, but it was far from perfect. They still required far more sleep than I did, and I could track their movements to have my Lusus avoid them with my eyes in the sky.

But their efforts were making it much more difficult to build up the number of Lusus. I hated to admit it, but I just couldn't concentrate the force needed to deal with their parahumans. So I had decided to try a few ideas to cut their patrols down without my Lusus having to be nearby.

My termites Lusus were much larger than I had first intended to make them. They looked vaguely like huge termites but I had designed them to be more crablike and to shoot a glob of glue from their tail instead of the head. They were about as tall as a medium sized dog, but much wider and heavier. It took a bit of work to give them the ability to shoot a wad of their glue, and they needed certain mechanical parts in their tail to provide the acceleration to give them a good range. The drones had to be upgraded a bit to act as spotters, but the termites could now around 300 feet depending on the wind.

They were not the most agile of beings, but they were small enough to slowly climb up fire escapes onto roofs. I carefully coordinated three groups of three to face several dealers and their protectors while I worked on my new avatar in one of my trucks.

My decoy body took a little too long to make with all the implants and weapons, not to mention it was still a bit too scary to send the right message of a hero. In hindsight my attack against the Empire might have been a tad excessive going by PHO.

I was a bit surprised at how scared civilians were of me since I had gone out of way to avoid them while I went after ABB members. Not to mention there were reports of my spiders fixing some of the more serious wounded so they had to know I didn't kill anyone.

But despite all of that, there were numerous calls for Heroes to start patrolling the docks more in response to me. I decided that I needed to work on my image a bit if they were comparing me to Nilbog.

My new avatar to meet people would be a large bird. I felt it would give me the right image of mysterious without being seen as too scary.

The voice had taken some work, but now it would randomly start to change voices after a few words or sentences. It would be making contact with the heroes who would start patrolling the docks more. I finished closing the bird up and activated the S.C.I.O.N.

While the bird looked organic, it was really more of a drone than a normal Lusus. I had built it to be able to act a long distance away from the network, and to be my face to others. It was small and nonthreatening and was mobile enough to get away if someone tried to shoot it.

I had decided to give out the location of another drug lab I had located to the first hero I saw. I wanted to show I could be a useful resource, and to encourage cooperation.

My main focus at the moment was just keeping up the pressure on the ABB and targeting the dealers. I wanted to make it clear that Lung could not protect them from me in any way, shape, or form. Eventually there wouldn't be anyone willing to work as a dealer for the ABB. Not when it came with a guarantee of being attacked. That would give more business to the Empire or the Teeth, but I would deal with them in the future.

I took direct control of the termites nearby and ordered the other two groups to attack. The ABB were too mobile with Boli Dun and Oni Lee for the termites to get off of the roof in time so I limited their numbers. The termites' bombardment of the dealers was just a decoy anyway. Since the number of Lusus in the docks was still low, I decided to remodel the HX Lusus a bit to give Lung and the ABB a surprise.

The drones moved overhead for fire support, and identified several targets to hit. Two dealers, two nearby cars full of ABB, and large group in an alley were all in range. I gave the command and the termites got to work. They picked up the premade globs of glue with their claws and moved their long tails to push them in. They adjusted the height, and made a "whump" sound as they shot them into the sky.

The first shots were direct hits on the two dealers and they made a wet smacking sound as they hit them. One was knocked off his feet as a shot hit him in the side of the head, while the other took two shots to the chest causing him to fall down on his back.

The glue was designed to slow down and drug people to sleep with quickly dissipating fumes. They were soft enough that they wouldn't break bones, but I had engineered them to smell terrible and sting.

The first car quickly emptied out with guns drawn. One of them was looking up at nearby buildings, and I laughed as a new shot hit him full in the face flipping him over. That was going to smell terrible when he regained consciousness.

The others ran back to the car with one of them trying to serpentine as the next volley came down. I missed them but some of the glue splashed on them, and the fumes should still affect them after awhile. One of my birds moved to give me a better angle and I could see that the driver was struggling to stay up.

I aimed the next volley at the other car whose passengers had decided to stay put, though they had left the windows open to look at the sky. I timed it so two shots went through the windows simultaneously and was rewarded with shouting. They got out of the car coughing before slumping over.

Before I started firing at the group in the alley, I took the time to start calling several ABB foot soldiers numbers in their boss's voices. I gave short and simple instructions to gather reinforcements and start sweeping the streets in the termites range.

I made a PHO account and started a new thread while I waited for the reinforcements to show up. I wanted to try and dispel the rumors about me. At the very least I wanted to give them my chosen cape name. I hated the PRT's choice of Echidna for me.

* * *

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 **Topic: Brockton Bay Safety Tips  
In: Boards ****Places** **America** **Brockton Bay Discussion (Public Board)  
Faust** (Original Poster)

Hello Brockton Bay, my name is Faust.

I am the new cape who has started to fight the ABB in the docks. I started this thread to dispel some rumors about me and to give some helpful tips for keeping safe in the docks.

I want to start by saying I am a Hero. I will never attack civilians, and I do not kill. My creations are called Lusus Naturae. They do not self-replicate and they do not kill under any circumstances either. That said here a few safety tips for those in the docks

1\. If you do not mess with the Lusus, they will not mess with you. The Lusus are naturally shy around people and will try to go away from you unless they are under my specific control. As long as you do not attack them, they will avoid or ignore you.

2\. If you are member of the ABB, Teeth, or the Empire 88 you should avoid being out in public from the hours of 12am to 12pm, and 12pm to 12 am. I can't guarantee your safety otherwise.

3\. If you are truly worried about the Lusus, please put on anything smelling of Lilacs. They actively avoid anything smelling it.

4\. If you wish for assistance from the Lusus, please use a whistle and they will come running if nearby. Though if you are trying to ambush them, I have a special surprise prepared just for you.

I knew that my power would never be trusted by the PRT, and that is why for the longest time I never used my power. I was content to keep my head down, and try to avoid everyone. But the gangs forced my hand. I am sick and tired of people being afraid of walking the streets at night. I am sick of people being worried about being attacked for being seen as different, because they're vulnerable, or because the PRT doesn't want things to escalate. Well the gangs escalated first and if they won't hold back, then neither will I.

* * *

Hopefully that got my point across. I wanted to be seen as strong, but not crazy. My attention shifted as the drones picked up all the new targets in shooting range. Most of them came by car, and got out with guns drawn. They were cautious as they started looking at their fallen members.

Their reaction time impressed me. Lung must have ordered them to be on alert for another attack. Though their coordination was still abysmal. There was no one taking command or trying to organize things. Just random groups people waving guns around.

I waited until most were in my range, and opened up with all three groups firing.

Thanks to the darkness and near silence of the glue hitting, there was almost no reaction at first. I aimed for isolated groups and I managed to down a few before people started to realize that others were falling down.

Those that realized what was happening started yelling warnings and moved for cover besides buildings and cars. A handful of them started to fire ineffectually in the air. I focused my fire on those idiots since their bullets could hit someone. I was thankful it was late enough that few people should be outside.

I had positioned the three groups of termites so they could hit several gang members in cover from the opposite side. The gang members started to run around when they started getting hit in cover. It was too dark for them to tell what direction the shots were coming from.

I had to admit that simple firearms were annoying effective when focused on my Lusus. But this way I could hit them, while they couldn't hit me. I would send in my humanoid Lusus to start breaking bones when they fell back.

Eventually they finally started to break and make for their cars. I kept up the rate of fire mostly to keep heads down and to encourage them to leave since I was going to be out of ammo soon.

My drone sent me an alert, and my attention focused on their video showing one of Boli Dun's portals open up a block away and Lung himself pop out. He seemed angry as he rushed forward over roofs heading straight at my group.

I focused all my fire on him, and saw him falter as the glue hit home. It knocked him down and I was momentarily hopeful he would be knocked unconscious before he just exploded. The fire swept over the roof left a bright glare. The flames were being used to counteract the fumes, but the glue was still slowing him down. I kept up the pressure, and I could see Lung visibly fight to stay wake.

That was when I lost connection to one of my groups of termites. A drone shifted its view and I saw a tall figure in a gasmask and covered in what looked like grenades. They had a large grenade launcher resting on their shoulder. From the broken windows it looked like she had used some type of sonic weapon to melt the termites, and their charges. The fumes were covering the area but the gasmask protected her.

Bakuda was the ABB's only tinker and she had a bomber specialization. Lung had given her shelter after she brought too much heat down on herself with the bombings at her alma mater. I motioned a drone to try and track her.

I doubt I would find her location, but I might be able to narrow down the area her lab was in. She was the main priority after Lung since she had started to give her bombs for regular ABB members to use.

Lung struggled to his feet and lit himself on fire to burn off the glue as he ran toward the termites. I moved the two cloaked HX to a building overlooking them and waited.

Lung took no time in smashing the termites. He seemed to relish being able to actually hit my creations for once since most ran or ignored him. After a few minutes I ordered the HX models to start laughing and Lung's head instantly went up in their direction.

I made a mental note that he had superhuman senses as he powered up. Though that reinforced the same basic strategy I already had for him.

It involved separating him from his bodyguard, and hitting him hard before he could toughen up. I wanted to make a custom poison for him, but until I could get a better read on his physiology it would be guesswork at best. But his fire prevented me from getting a DNA sample.

Lung started to yell at nothing and I observed that the building was too far to jump across. Lung had brief moment of indecision before he dropped down. I made another note that Lung has become a bit too over reliant on his bodyguard's ability to transport himself.

He was still on fire, and he had started to acquire silver looking scales. His neck was stretching as he leapt up the side of the building. I ordered the HX to remove their cloaks just as he made it up.

Lung's face was blocked with his mask but he was still human looking enough for his body language to show surprise and confusion as he stared at two identical copies of himself. Well not completely identical. The tattoos all over the arms weren't exact since I had greatly enjoyed making tattoo designs. I intended to get one myself I if lived to my eighteenth birthday.

Lung actually took a step back as they started to scream in his voice and jerk back and forth. Large bugs and snakes erupted from under the skin as they started to eat his copies from the inside out. I had them scream in mortal terror and pain as their spines were broken and they were devoured.

Lung blasted them with fire but they were tough enough that I had them suddenly stand still and talk before they were incinerated.

"I am coming for you Lung," they said in his own voice.

I switched my attention away from Lung as I had gotten my point across. There was still a few more hours before dawn to sow paranoia in the ABB's ranks before the warnings of imposters spread. The other dozen Lung look-alikes would now start attacking any ABB they saw and breaking the bones of downed members. The ABB wouldn't shoot at Lung, which allowed me to avoid their gunfire and get close enough to attack them.

I moved the crow into a holding pattern above the docks to wait for the heroes. I wanted to make a good first impression.

* * *

Hannah rode in the back of the PRT van as they sped to the docks. The seat was uncomfortable but she tried not to shift too much. The construct in her hand shifted back and forth between a gun and knife betraying her awkwardness.

Triumph was strangely silent. He usually tried to make small talk to ease tension when we were traveling to a fight. But he seemed to be making a point to not talk with Bastion. Hannah hadn't been in town the last few weeks but from what Battery had said, it seemed that not too many people were making an effort to work with him except for Armsmaster.

Bastion had been one of the top stars in the Protectorate just two months ago. He led his own team, and was seen as having a very versatile and useful power. But that all changed when he was caught on video calling a fan a racial slur who had come up for a simple autograph.

Overnight he had lost all his popularity and been shunned by his team. Director Piggot had always been the practical sort and had invited him to the Bay despite a few objections including Triumph. Bastion had accepted and had arrived at the same time as Weld and Lily in response to the escalating gang violence in the city.

Hannah glanced him over from the corner of her eye. He was wearing his rebranded costume that had been recolored grey with blue highlights. His costume seemed similar to an aviator outfit, and he was one of the few heroes to wear an actual cape. His was a short blue one that covered his left arm. His helmet had been redesigned to be less fancy and he no longer wore his old symbol on the side of it. Kid win had said Bastion had designed if off of an old radio drama about a hero with a jetpack.

Well if Triumph won't ease the tension, then I will she thought. I might not like him either, but we will have to work together. "Bastion, I haven't had a chance to work with you yet, so I wanted to know how tough your fields are."

He looked up and paused for a second before he started to reply. Hard to tell what he was feeling with his helmet. "Depends on how I use them but I can stop a car accelerating at 60 flat though it gives me a little strain. If you are talking about Lung, Armsmaster's calculations say I should be able to contain him for three to four minutes based off his regular growth rate. "

He pauses looking like he is trying to figure out what to say. "Where is Armsmaster? Considering how interested the Director is in this new cape, I thought he would have volunteered to be here."

"Yeah, considering how cloak and dagger he and the Director have been lately about this new cape, its weird he isn't coming with us," Triumph said. He stops crossing his arms and leans forward. "We could really use Adamant, Sere, and him tonight. What is so important that they had to leave with the fighting going on right now?"

She forcibily made her construct a knife before putting it in a holster. "Well keep this quiet for now, but we got an anonymous call that the Butcher is back in town. We just got confirmation from Shadow Stalker that the Teeth are holding a pit fight right now with the Butcher in attendance. Armsmaster wanted to take advantage of the fact that they will be unprepared and to test his new tranquilizer on the Butcher."

"That's just what we need." Triumph says with a groan.

"Is Armsmaster skilled enough to take on the Butcher and the Teeth with just Adamant and Sere?" Bastion asked with skepticism.

"Armsmaster has been fighting the Butcher for years and he has a new program that allows him to predict how she fights very accurately." Hannah answered. "He is probably the only person in the city who can take her one on one besides a pumped up Lung. He also a new tranquilizer that he is confident can put her out without killing her. He is hoping that her danger sense will not register it as a threat allowing him to inject her. According to Shadow Stalker there are only two other parahumans present. Skinslip to heal the winners and Spree to provide some extra opponents."

"I still think it's a mistake to let Shadow Stalker back out in the field so soon," Triumph said.

"I personally agree with you, but it was not my decision," Hannah said suppressing a sigh. "The therapist agrees that she is headed for a mental break of some kind if she is stuck doing nothing but console duty. I suggested patrolling the quarantine walls in Boston, but there is worry she would run."

"Based off the reports it might be better for her to just be sent to Juvie," Bastion replied. "Why go through so much effort to work with someone so anti-social and who will probably be a problem in the future?"

 _That is pretty ironic coming from you._

"Politics, and keeping the youth guard from showing up most likely," Triumph said with a sneer. "

Hannah moved her scarf away from her so it was easier to talk. "We didn't know until the video how many issues she actually had. By all accounts she was making progress. She was going to school with decent grades, was part of the track team, and was working with us. She is getting therapy now even if she isn't making much progress, and the PRT doesn't need the image problems right now. I don't like or agree with it, but I can understand why the director chose to let her back into the field if the pit fights are starting again."

"Are the pit fights really so bad?" Bastion asked with curiosity.

"Yes," Hannah answered. "Skidmark came up with the idea for large scale fights to get people to trigger during the sixteenth's reign, but Quarrel has really expanded the concept. She likes to kidnap and force people to fight to build up their forces. You win you get money, drugs, or sex. You lose they heal you just enough to not kill you and force you to fight again.

She paused briefly thinking of all the injuries she had seen. "If you win enough, or they think you aren't worth it they let you go. She is smart enough to keep the deaths down so there isn't too much attention but she had been more brazen in recent times. Kidnapping parahumans for the Teeth to fight, or kidnapping people to bolster numbers. If you trigger they force you to fight for them in the pits if you don't join. They always move locations and no one has had much luck stopping the fights for took long with the exception of Grue drugging Spree to cause his clones to go ballistic. The director wants us in force in response to Echidna, but we can't ignore the pit fight in case there are kidnapped people there."

"So is Echidna the official name for her then?" Triumph asked.

"Until we find out what she is calling herself, the New York office decided to name her that based off of Othala's testimony. All we know right now is that she is going after the ABB, but we should be on guard in case something changes," Hannah warned. " We have been getting numerous conflicting reports about what her power is."

Her ear bud beeped and she quickly tapped it. "Miss Militia here. What is it Vista?"

"We have a report of Kamaitachi pinning down two police officers in your vicinity. At least two other armed gang members are also on site, but no other parahumans reported." Hannah inwardly smiled at the fact that Vista always tried to make her voice sound deeper and more professional when she had console duty. She looked at the Triumph and Bastion who nodded their heads and answered that they were on their way.

Hannah signaled the driver and he turned to accelerate toward the officers pinned down. She tapped her earpiece and ordered Assault and Battery to meet up with Velocity and Dauntless on the east end. They'd move in from the opposite direction after they put Kamaitachi in custody and meet in the middle.

They drove for only a few minutes before the driver stopped and they got out. Hannah scanned down the street and saw Kamaitachi standing in the middle of the street with his arms down. He had on his narrow mask, but was wearing what looked a bathrobe instead of his costume with his large gut jutting through it.

All around him things bent and moved like they were in a hurricane but without any sound of heavy wind. Debris was being thrown at the two officers taking cover behind their patrol car with a third lying on the ground. The mute wind was too strong for them to fully stand up, and four ABB members were taking potshots at them with pistols.

"Bastion provide cover for us from the wind and head at your best pace to the officers position. We will be right behind you." Hannah ordered. Her knife turned into a large rifle filled with less lethal rubber bullets. She took aim and fired off shot after shot with her power reloading automatically.

Kamaitachi screamed as his knees were hit and he fell on his arms. His wind gave him some protection but not enough for that not to have hurt. He waved his arms and a bubble of debris was gathered and moved around him with surprising speed before her next few shots hit him. While her shots had failed to penetrate his shield, the wind affecting the street had stopped. He shouted orders to the gunmen as he limped to cover.

They switched targets to us, but Bastion had put his arms up and a bluish light appeared as the bullets were stopped right in front of him. He took off at a light jog with Triumph and I right behind him.

Triumph took the time to use his power when we passed an overturned car. He shouted with a loud scream and it was sent tumbling toward the gunmen. They stopped firing and backed away in panic but it stopped just in front of them to give us more cover. I took the time to put one of them down after he moved out of cover.

Bastion took position in front of the patrol car and Hannah checked on the downed officer. "What happened?" she asked the officers as checked him over.

"He was got hit in the head," the one with the large mustache answered.

"Sir can you hear me," Hannah asked. Getting no response she rubbed the bony part of her knuckles on his sternum to check for pain. Getting no response again she checked and felt a pulse. She turned her gun back into a knife and placed it under his nose and saw he wasn't breathing.

At that moment Kamaitachi started his mute hurricane again though Bastion's shield kept the worst of it off of us.

Hannah used the jaw thrust maneuver to open up his airway in case he had a neck injury, and was relieved that he had started to weakly breathe again. She motioned to the ABB who had started to run after seeing the wind wasn't affecting them. "Go after them, I will take care of him until the ambulance gets here."

Bastion nodded once in acknowledgement and took off after the retreating gunmen. The police officers looked torn between staying and helping but decided to go when Hannah pulled on the EMT bag she had attached to her back.

Hannah pulled on the penlight and checked his pupils. She was just about give him an injection when she realized he had stopped breathing again. She cursed and pulled out the bag-valve mask and started to squeeze to air into his lungs.

"I can help," a voice behind her said.

Hannah twirled around and an automatic shotgun appeared in her hands. A bird she thought in confusion?

It looked like a large crow, but was a dark and mossy green. What most stood out was the human eye blinking in the middle of its forehead. It was perched on the police siren, and its voice sounded like an old mans.

"You going to fight me," she asked while keeping the gun trained on it. She desperately wanted to get back to helping the injured officer, but she couldn't take a chance in case they were attacked.

"Of course not. I'm a hero", the crow said. It was extremely disconcerting to hear it change voices. "Quickly keep pumping the bag until my medical unit gets here. I am a very good healer, and I promise you I will not attack you".

Hannah kept her gun trained, but after a moment of thought relented. She immediately went back to pumping the bag.

The bird flapped near the head of the officer and stared intently at his head. "There is some swelling and some possible internal bleeding," it said with a young man's voice now.

Hannah kept pumping as she heard a mechanical whirring sound. She managed to stay calm as six large mechanical looking spiders came running out of a nearby alley. They looked like they were made of a clear green plastic, and they had equipment built into them. They stopped just behind the bird and spread around the down officer.

"I will take it from here," the bird said.

After some hesitation Hannah stopped pumping and stood up. Another shotgun appeared in her hands as she pointed it at her feet.

The spiders got to work in a hurry. One of them expanded something from its front to make a mask on his face. Another made a whirring sound as a red light went over the officer's head.

The bird hopped onto one of the spiders. "I have to operate. Please do not fire as I open him up."

Hannah pointed her gun up briefly before nodding.

One of the spiders let out arms ending in tools and Hannah winced as she heard the skull being drilled open. The spiders moved quickly and methodically. In only a few minutes they had stopped. Another sprayed some sort of foam before they closed him up. Afterward the bird looked intently at his head before the spiders took off back to the alley. "He will be fine now," the bird said in relief. "You might want to take to the hospital to make sure, but he will make a full recovery."

For a moment Hannah wondered at the surreal situation before asking, "Are you really a hero?"

The bird flew back up to the police siren before turning back around. "Yes, you may call me Faust."

"You don't act like a hero."

"What do you mean?" Faust or what Hannah assumed was some kind of avatar twisted its head on its side to look at her quizzically. "I have been fighting villains and I do not kill. I have also started intelligence operations to snuff out their secrets. In fact I was looking for you or other heroes to tell you that there is a drug lab three streets over at the end of the street. My Lusus are currently busy attacking isolated groups of ABB members and I currently lack the force to attack it right now."

Hannah narrowed her eyes. " You have been picking fights that is escalating violence in the city and seriously injuring people. You have been openly attacking ABB members, and civilians with ties to the Empire in the street. While capturing wanted villains is fine, you can't just go around attacking whomever you feel like. There are rules and laws to be followed and they have rights.

"RIGHTS? What about the right to not be scared of walking down the street at night!" the bird screamed. "They support organizations that murder, that poison the minds of others, that make victims of innocents. What city do you live in?"

"Look" Hannah said. "Lets not get into a debate. You say you are a hero. Then come with me the PRT headquarters. You can talk things over with the director. You have been scaring people.

The bird is quiet for a moment. "I apologize for scaring anyone, but I can't right now. There are still a few things I must do tonight. But I do want to meet. Contact me on PHO, and we can arrange a meeting. "

With a final look at Hannah, the bird flew away.

* * *

I woke up at the sound of the alarm and lazily turned if off. I got up and stretched as I went over phone records, and video of last nights attack.

The S.C.I.O.N. gave me a quick update on the status of my Lusus, and my most recent intelligence summary. One of the ABB I had under surveillance had made a call to someone asking to work for them. Seems he didn't think working, as a dealer was the safest profession.

I walked to the bathroom to brush my teeth as I searched the name through a few public databases. I had over a dozen matches in the Brockton bay area, and I would have it narrowed down by the end of the day. This could be a good lead on the ABB's smuggling operations.

I yawned as I read up on the news. Yawning is a little surreal to me since I think I have the capability to completely remove my need to sleep at this point. But I decided to maintain an hour or two and make sure I can enter REM sleep quicker. There was the theory that sleep can help clear negative emotions, and considering how I had acted just after my experiment, I thought it couldn't hurt. I was curious if Noctis cases or parahumans who did not require sleep had similarities in their brains.

I splashed some cold water in my face and activated my internal scanner as I brushed. My teeth were in good health, though I would want to have a spider do some basic maintenance when I got back to the lab. The spiders had been used to do a little dental surgery to improve my smile. I didn't anything too noticeable since I didn't want Dad to get suspicious.

I took a moment to admire my body in the mirror. I had done good work. All the enhancements, as well as one or two cosmetic changes, looked completely natural. You couldn't tell anything was different. Though my left eye implant was acting up again when I tried to replay video of last nights skirmish through my optical nerve.

I walked back to my room and opened the closet. I removed the hidden panel in the back and pulled out the suitcase to retrieve my arms. I put on the left one, and the mechanical tools attached sprang to life. I turned off my pain and carefully removed my right eye. The scan showed everything was fine, but I gently peeled back the skin to check to make sure. I tweaked the mechanical components a little, put everything back in, and added a little of my prototype medigel to help accelerate the healing process.

I really loved Bonesaw's seed. My vision was much better than a normal person, with a few improvements including superior night vision and telescopic sight. I didn't need glasses anymore, but I was so used to them that my face felt a little weird without them. Not to mention dad would wonder when I got contacts.

I carefully packed the arm back in the suitcase, and closed the panel back up. My body decoy Lusus had been recycled so there was plenty of room. I needed to work on a better way to keep it hidden and update its programming so it seemed more natural while it slept. I needed to record myself sleeping to see if I really snored like Dad insisted was true.

I picked a simple blouse, and pants to wear today. Now that money was no longer an issue, I could have afforded some new clothes, but I wanted to hide my income from Dad. I had never been much of a shopper anyway. Though Dad insisted I needed some new clothes due to my recent growth spurt.

I started to brush my hair my hair in the mirror by my door. I was surprised that I couldn't smell Dad's cooking. He usually insisted on cooking me breakfast if he had the day off. I did get a trace of what smelled like new cologne. That was curious. When had Dad started wearing cologne?

I walked down the stairs and stopped in the middle to stare at Dad. He was drinking a cup of coffee while he read the paper. He had still dressed like he was going to work even though he was off today.

I stared because he had completely shaved his head, which was very suspicious. He had been talking about fully shaving it ever since he had started going bald. But he had never done it until know. Thinking of it, he had been uncharacteristically happy recently. I had thought it was in celebration of the defeat of the governors bill but was it possible Dad had met someone on his trip?

I greeted Dad with a smile. Dad had never been a big talker but my efforts to improve our connection and do activities together had been very fruitful. We were much more open with each other than we had been in years.

"What no breakfast?" I asked.

He carefully folded up the paper, and looked up at me. "I thought we'd eat out today kiddo".

Okay he definitely met someone I thought. He had spent a considerable effort shaving and grooming his face. I tried not to let my suspicions show. "That sounds great. Where at, Fugly Bobs?"

"I'm thinking Italian. Maybe someplace nice like Valentino's. "

"Ohhhh fancy. You want me to drive? "

"I'd like to not have a heart attack so no. If I ever need to destroy trashcans, I'll know who to call."

"One time dad. That happened one time." I said with a laugh as I went to get my shoes.

I ran upstairs to get my shoes, and on a whim checked up on my PHO thread, which had 30 pages already. I took my time to read over a few posts. Most were asking me questions or debating my actions. There was also numerous photos and video showing a few of my Lusus including my spiders fixing the policeman.

It seemed there was a lively debate about my actions, and quite a few comparisons to Nilbog. The thread seemed split between those that applauded my taking the fight to the ABB and the Empire, and those that thought I was escalating things.

I searched through the thread and found a message from Miss Militia asking to meet. I messaged her through the drones that I would let her know as soon as I had time to meet her.

I needed to plan where and how to meet the PRT. I could use the network drones I built to let me operate a small number of Lusus without the central server. Should I go in my costume or use the bird avatar again?

Thinking of Miss Militia's accusations of not acting like a hero made my implant say a mantra about control in my own voice. She had made me so angry. I wouldn't have done anything if the PRT was more effective. It was obvious that they weren't protecting anyone to any great degree. They had failed to stop the Butcher in the past, and the gangs were as strong as ever. What progress had they made?

Despite my less than perfect first meeting, the night had been a success overall. I had taken out even more ABB foot soldiers and the video of the heroes in action had been inspiring. My Lusus were much more effective when the Protectorate could distract and occupy the ABB parahumans. Still going from what Miss Militia had said and the fact that the drug lab hadn't been hit yet, I don't think the heroes are anxious to work with me.

But last night had proved that having parahuman allies would make things easier and I did have other options. If they wouldn't work with me, maybe the other independent heroes would. New Wave might be open to a meeting, and I do still owe them a debt to repay. There were also two independent heroes in the city besides New Wave right now.

Epoch was supposed to be some kind of time traveler, and was supposed to be really strong. He was very active on PHO and he had made it clear he wasn't interested in joining the Protectorate.

The other independent hero was Phoenix. There was actual video of her in action fighting the Teeth and the ABB. There was currently a debate on PHO about her chosen name since there were already other heroes with a Phoenix name or theme. She was minor changer and brute, but her main ability had the main reason there was a debate because it matched Phoenix very well. She couldn't die. Killing her caused her body to disappear, and she usually showed back up three days with no issue.

Working with them could make me more effective and improve my chances of taking down Bakuda and Lung. If they were gone, I was positive I could take the docks outright after some more preparation.

Once I knew where to hit and if I could get project X to work, I was going to…

"Taylor are you cobbling shoes? You coming or what?"

"Coming," I said suppressing a sigh as a melody went off in my ears. I wasn't angry I thought at the S.C.I.O.N. I would have to tweak it some more so it could tell the difference between annoyance and anger. I quickly put on my shoes and got into the car.

Dad whistled with the radio as we drove. It was a new experience traveling somewhere else besides downtown or the docks. Everything is much cleaner somehow in the Downs with well-manicured lawns, fresh painted stores, no graffiti or trash. It was nice but seemed a little sterile and without character.

I browsed the web, and checked the latest foot traffic data while we waited to be seated. I really loved Overmind's seed even if her tech didn't work exactly as I would have liked all the time. The restaurant was a lot nicer than I was used to. Live music was playing, and there was hint of flowers in the air. We ordered and Dad sat across from me.

"So how was the capitol?" I asked biting into a breadstick. I had strategically moved the basket closer to me since I was hungrier than usual.

"A real mess to be honest," Dad said with a grim face. "We weren't the only group there protesting the bill, and there were a few scuffles with police. I'm not sure how it didn't pass, but I'm thankful it did. I was worried a few of the dockworkers would have done something rash without thinking things through."

The waiter comes and we order. Dad gets a fishplate and I order pasta. "So Dad." I carefully drink my lemonade and try to keep my face normal. "What is her name?"

"What? Her who?" He tries to look puzzled but I can see that he is trying to hide something. He always touches the back of his neck when he lies. Mom told me that in confidence a long time ago.

"Come on Dad, I can see the signs," I said holding up my fingers. "You finally shaved your head after years of inaction, you are wearing cologne for the first time in who knows how long, and I know how you are. I know you would be happy from the bill being defeated, but you wouldn't be in such a good mood from that alone. You seem much happier than normal."

"I'm happy? You have to tell me what you've done with my daughter. I haven't seen you so relaxed in forever Taylor. You're smiling all the time, and you have this pep in your step. I haven't seen you like this since the time you got to see big bird in person," he said jokingly.

"I've just had a lot of good luck lately," I said keeping my face straight. Dad had gotten better at reading me since we had grown a little closer, but the S.C.I.O.N had helpfully analyze my micro expressions and helped to build a database to better read people. So I had a little experience at lying convincingly.

I turned things around and looked at him suspiciously. "Don't think I haven't noticed you are trying to change the subject. Spill."

"Well yes I did meet someone and we sort of hit it off," Dad said growing a little red. He had crossed his arms and was leaning a bit back in his chair. The S.C.I.O.N. helpfully pointed out he was a little embarrassed.

I mind whirled with astonishment. Oh my god, my dad was blushing! I can't remember the last time he had blushed. Who was this woman? Whoever they were Dad really liked her. "I knew it," I said with triumph. "So come on, details."

"Well, she was a PRT officer who was a strong supporter of what we were trying to do, and we got to talking, and it turns out she is from Brockton. We saw each other a few times during the week, and we got to talking for hours without realizing it.

"Who asked who?" I said with a smile.

"Let me finish." Dad said waving a breadstick at me. He was still a little red, but he had relaxed. "So we started to talk about the economy, and you came up quite a bit. One thing led to another and I asked her to get a cup of coffee. Which turned into dinner and another coffee date." Dad actually looked a little proud.

"What does she look like?"

"She's about 5ft 8, light brown skin, with a short and wavy brown hair. She is has a bit of an athlete's build, with a very pretty face," he said. "Look I wanted to talk with you first."

He leaned forward and held my hands. "Are you okay with me dating? I know I didn't really talk about it and it hasn't been that long since your mom passed. If you aren't comfortable with it I'll understand. I will tell her we have to take it slow"

He looks me right in the eye and I am touched that he is completely sincere. He really would hold things off for me I realized feeling guilty.

"Dad, I know mom would want you to be happy, and I feel the same way," I said giving his hands a squeeze. "I love seeing you with a smile on your face. If you like her, I'm sure she is amazing. She'd be lucky to have you. When do I get to meet her?"

"Well we were talking about having dinner at the house later this week depending on what you said," he says a little teary eyed.

Dammit dad. If you get teary, I'm going to get teary.

"I think that is a wonderful idea Dad," I say with a smile. "I'll cook if you don't mind."

"I don't mind at all. Besides your cooking has far surpassed mine at this point." He looks so relieved and happy.

I put a grave scowl over my face as I put my hand over his. I look him straight in the eye with a stern expression. "Dad, there is something we do have to talk about".

"Yes, Taylor?" he asks. He is looking a little concerned.

"Do I have to give you the talk?"

"What"? He starts cracking up and laughs really hard before throwing a napkin at me. "Smartass".

"So what's her name?" I ask with a grin.

Dad looks momentarily embarrassed. "I don't actually know what her last name is, but her first name is Hannah."


	8. 2-3

Seed 2-3

I have been in the lab for too long. I hadn't even realized what I was missing out on. I laughed as I coiled and launched myself across a gap to another buildings. Behind me half a dozen mimics followed close behind.

Moving with the body of snake taking the place of my legs is amazing. It hadn't taken any time at all to remove my legs and graft it on for tonight. I'm so fast, and it's a joy to just move.

I occasionally mistime a jump and land on the side of a building, but a few grippers I added on the tail let me climb up without too much trouble. My tail isn't perfect but it gets the job done.

Above me the network drones expand my control so that the mimics move as one with me. The mimics are not that tough, but they are the fastest and most agile of my creations. The feeling of their wings as they travel through the night air feels great.

The birds are a different story. For the umpteenth time tonight I accidently pushed one out of range, and am thankful that I tweaked them to automatically move back toward me. Without access to the central server, I was much more limited in what I could control in both range and response time.

The mobile network essentially turned my own brain into a server that boosted the processing power of nearby Lusus. Trying to control too many was dangerous, so I was limited in what I could bring with me to look for Epoch and Phoenix. I had opted for more recon ability than more Lusus capable of combat since I was personally present. I almost wanted to be attacked to see what my new body could do.

While I was confident about my combat abilities, I should be able to outrun all of the Empire's parahumans if it came to it. Purity could be a problem, but I had a few contingencies for her.

I had a few new birds in the truck following me that were ready to spray out a paralytic from hidden hoses in their throats. I also had a small bomb made from a custom plant extract that would produce a hallucinogenic fog in a large range to allow me to escape. The Empire would learn that they should be in full protective gear whenever they fought me.

If worse came to worse, I could just take my mask off and change my face. The truck and the Lusus were easily replaceable after all.

A beep from the S.C.I.O.N. confirmed another negative sweep. My regular drones had been searching for me but I haven't had too much luck finding either of the heroes so far. The S.C.I.O.N. had analyzed listed sightings of them but I hadn't been able to find much of a pattern for Epoch. He changed where he operated too often.

Thankfully Phoenix did have a pattern and she was the one I was looking for. She typically operated in Empire or ABB territory and had a MO of openly attacking members of a gang until she was killed. One to three days later she would show up again and go after the person who killed her.

If things become too difficult or they were too prepared for her she sought out a new target. Previous attempts to capture her had failed since she reportedly bit off her tongue causing her body to disappear if things went against her.

Three days ago she had attacked a few members of the Empire and was killed by Cricket. Going from her previous pattern she would probably try at least one more time to attack Cricket or a few gang members in the same area before moving on.

The Empire had been lying low recently, but it was well known that Othala had failed to show up at her court date after paying her rather large bail. I wasn't too surprised but I was kicking myself for not tagging her when I got the chance. From now on any criminal parahuman I beat was getting a tracker installed.

From my experiments on how Othala's clones healed, broken or shattered bones would be difficult to heal with her power. So keeping my usual methods against the 88 would still prove effective for the most part. Not to mention that her healing wouldn't have any effect on what I had done to Kaiser, though the venom I had used should be wearing off.

I wasn't sure how I was going to do it yet, but I was going to dose Kaiser again. I started to chuckle imagining that moment of comprehension when he realized what I had done and what he would have to experience again.

While the Empire would be more active again thanks to Othala, I didn't mind. Their efforts would further weaken the ABB, and they'd never be able to hold the docks while Lung was still around. Once I had the forces capable of defending the docks on my own, I'd look for where Lung slept and deal with him.

The S.C.I.O.N. showed me that I was a little dehydrated so I decided to take a break near the Medhall tower.

I pulled out my hydration pack and hooked it up to the access point in my neck. The mimics took flanking positions on nearby buildings. I really need to focus on upgrading my mobile network for future raids outside of the docks. As the pack drained into me, I studied the map in my head.

This particular area exchanged hands frequently between Coil and the Empire. The Empire would take it without much of a fight, then Coil's mercenaries would attack forcing them back. Coil seemed to have a knack for hitting them where they were weakest. He did not seem to want the place at the moment, so the Empire was moving back into the area. Their recent movements had probably pushed Phoenix to focus her efforts here.

My drones were actively looking for lone females wearing hand me down and mismatched clothes. Phoenix was supposed to have a decent changer rating and her power caused her to go through clothes quickly. So she didn't really wear a costume which made identifying her difficult.

I just was about to move and look somewhere else when a drone spotted a lone white female walking through an alley. Three white males were following close behind.

They didn't look like Empire. Kaiser took a very hard stance against what they were doing. I immediately sent the mimics to intercept, while I followed close behind.

They were just far enough away that I wasn't too sure if I could make it before they tried anything. I instructed a drone to start to descend. If I couldn't make it in time, the drone would intervene. It didn't have any weapons but crashing it into people would work just as well.

The woman turned to look back and suddenly broke into a run. The men went after her and seemed to be a bit faster that she was. The drone was hard to see but was positioned just above the alley.

One of the men was just about to reach her when the woman suddenly turned around, dropped down on one knee, and punched him in his crotch so hard his legs flew back. The man grimaced and the woman kicked him in the side of the head. The drone could make out what looked like teeth flying out. The other two froze as she started to grow in height.

Realizing what was happening, I maneuvered the mimics to take positions to make sure they couldn't escape. The woman's hair changed from a dark brown to blonde and her arms visibly thickened in width as she charged the other two men.

One of them turned and ran. He didn't get far before a mimic enveloped him from behind. I didn't want to make too big of a scene in Empire territory, so I just had it envelop him like a lover and inject him. The mimic had supported his limb body and made it look like he was drunk.

While this was going on, the other man had pulled out a knife and called her a whore as she charged him. Phoenix pulled back one of her arms like she was winding up for a pitch and it suddenly stretched forward almost four feet. She grabbed his arm and pushed his own knife into his shoulder.

He didn't have a chance to cry out as the next moment her arms wrapped around his waist and squeezed which muffled his cries. She pivoted and threw him over her shoulder onto the ground with a large thud. He definitely broke a few ribs.

The drone moved back up as I peered down into the alley with my head sticking over the ledge.

Looking at her up close, she was wearing clothes that looked they had come from a garage sale. She was wearing an oversized and dirty coat, what looked like work out pants, and a plain red shirt. She was over six feet tall, and her face was stretched so that she had a doll like but freaky face. Like those people you see who had bad plastic surgery.

Phoenix was currently rummaging through pockets and emptying wallets. How to approach her?

This would be the first time I had talked to someone else with my own mouth that was not dad in months. I don't think I can scare her. It's hard to scare someone who literally can't be killed.

I decided to use my mom's voice. That was the most authoritative and diplomatic voice I knew.

Phoenix had thrown the wallets on the ground pulled out a cellphone that one of the men had. She was trying to use it but it required a password. She tried for a few minutes before her arm stretched out and pulled up the man with the knife wound by his neck. She positioned him so that he was forced to look up to her.

"I need to call the cops and an ambulance for you pieces of shit. What's your password?"

The man spit on her which surprised her so much she dropped him. Phoenix wiped the spit from her face as she looked down at him. She smiled with perfect teeth that looked a little weird on that face. She carefully pulled out the man's knife, showed it to him, and forced his arm up. He struggled and cursed but his palm was forced open and she pushed the knife through his palm in one fast motion causing him to scream.

"What is your password to the phone?" she asked like she was flirting with him.

"1030", the man yelled. "1030, you fucking bitch".

"Thank you. Was that so hard?" Her arm then stretched out and grabbed his other arm. He screamed and tried to fight her off but she carefully showed him the knife and waved it in front of his face. She took her time putting it through his other hand.

"You should be careful. You could permanently injure his tendons or the nerves," I said.

Phoenix twisted around and brought her knife up in a defensive stance. She also noticeably shrunk to make herself a smaller target.

"Whose there?" she asked with confidence looking up. Her arm holding the knife has started to twist around itself like a spring. I was dying to get a sample of her DNA, but I had made a promise to never use hero DNA without permission after Fleur.

"You can call me Faust."

Her face was frozen in place making it almost impossible to get a good read on her. She might as well have been wearing a mask. "The new hero? Prove it." Her arm keeps steadily twisting, but she has slowed it down.

I anchor my tail on the edge and stretch myself down the side of the building. I grab a pipe to help anchor me and go a little slow so I don't startle her. I'm not sure how much penetrating power her coiled arm could produce, but I am almost insulted that she thinks she can hurt me with a knife.

Her plastic face changes just enough to show what I think is surprise before it is quickly hidden. "What do you want?" she asks defensively.

"I was wondering if you wanted to work together. I feel we can accomplish more combining our resources than we would alone. But first I want to look at the men who attacked you." Phoenix backs up with her back to the wall, as I look over the man with the holy wrists.

He freezes when I look down him, and I decide to just shoot a dart out of my wrist instead of giving him an injection. He shouts but his face relaxes in relief as the painkiller takes effect. In a few seconds he is unconscious.

"Did you kill him?" Phoenix asks in a very matter of fact way. Her voice also changes in pitch. I can't place it, but it sound familiar somehow.

"No, just a pain killer and sedative. I don't particularly value his wellbeing, but I do not kill anyone." My hands move to utility compartment and pull out the mechanical hands covered in tools. I slip them on as I examine the patient.

I use my own personal disinfectant and do a little touch up. A quick spray of bio foam, and seed paste closes up most of the wounds. It will leave a scar but I make sure the damage to his hands won't be permanent. I give his body another once over and then break his legs.

"Why did you fix his hands then break his leg?" Phoenix asked. She hasn't run yet, which is a good sign. Her face is still difficult to read emotions on but the S.C.I.O.N.'s best guess is curiosity by the sound of her voice. I might have to rethink my voice changing if it is this strange.

"I am trying to improve my reputation to the PRT," I answer as I move to the other man. I can tell from that he is playing dead. He has a broken jaw, and swollen testicles. I give him a sedative and repeat the process on his legs. I could have fixed his jaw, but I was worried surgery wouldn't look good in front of Phoenix.

"I usually break bones because it puts them out of commission for several months and is easily repaired without long-term damage. I have a very good memory. If I find out they didn't take the warning, I will escalate the damage so they physically can't commit crimes for a longer period of time."

"You aren't at all what I was expecting," she says.

"In a good way?"

She laughs and walks back to the man she stabbed. She pulls up his arms and for a second I worry that she is going to undue my work. But instead she just examines his hands and turns to me. "I actually was a fan of your work. You've done more to hurt the Empire and the ABB in a few weeks than the PRT has in years. I was expecting another Shadow Stalker, but you are surprisingly calm."

"Thank you, I think. Can I see that phone?" I ask.

She looks at me for a few seconds before handing it over. I quickly open it up and pull out the SIM card. I open my coat and plug it into a machine to copy the data. I will do a background check to see if these men are affiliated with Coil or Kaiser in some way. I also make sure to get a good look at their faces. The facial recognition software is still buggy, but future drones will have a perfected version.

Phoenix seems to have relaxed, and has stretched back up in height. Actually she seems to be a little taller than she was before. "What do you mean work together? You don't seem like someone who needs much help."

I shrug my shoulders and say, "My efforts against the ABB have shown that I lack the ability to concentrate the force necessary to beat their parahumans. With your help and others I think we can isolate and deal with them."

"Look, I like what you're doing. I love the fact that there is another hero really going after the gangs, but I can't really afford to attack them right now." She sweeps her arm over herself. "I'm running out of clothes just fighting regular idiots. Not to mention that what you're describing isn't so easy. You have to find the parahumans first, and if you could do that why didn't you just call the PRT to fight them?"

"Well finding them is easy. Lung is very anxious to stop me, not to mention I have certain methods of intelligence gathering that the PRT does not possess. As for asking the PRT, I did mention that they do not have a good impression of me. Thanks to Boli Dun, I usually only have a small window to stop them before they get away."

Looking at the empty wallets and Phoenix's clothes, I am reminded of my old money troubles. While it is legal to take spoils from criminals, nobody carriers cash anymore so it is probably difficult for her support herself while crime fighting. "I could easily compensate you for your time and efforts. Lets say ten or twenty thousand to help me?"

Phoenix's face changes a bit, but she gives a clear smile. "I'm not going to shake your hand, but you have a deal. Though if you screw with me I will keep coming after you. What exactly do you need me to do?"

"Just help me when I find a target to attack." I pack up my arms and realize that I don't have a way to clean up blood without my spiders. Another things I have to work on. I mentally command the truck to come to our location. "I could also use some help gathering other allies. You wouldn't happen to know how to contact Epoch do you?"

Phoenix makes what looks like a face of disgust. "I really don't want to work with that idiot".

"Why? Has his power been exaggerated?" The mimics enter the back of the truck, and it waits for a few people get further away before moving.

"No, his power is really strong. That's the only reason he has lasted as long as he has. But he's an arrogant moron who doesn't take things seriously."

I turn to her and try to keep myself level at her height, which is harder than it sounds with my tail. "Will you be unable to work with him?"

"If you're paying me what you say you are, I will work with him. But I don't actually know how to contact him anymore."

"Anymore?" I ask.

She hesitates, and her eyes look away from me. "We….used to run in the same circles. But that was months ago, and I didn't know him very well."

"You say you used to run in the same circles. Do you know someone who could contact him?"

"There is someone. But I really don't know how comfortable you will be talking to him. He'll probably require that we pay him or ask for a favor, and I already owe that bastard a favor."

I didn't think there were any other independent heroes in Brockton besides New Wave. "Who?"

Phoenix visibly sighs. "Grue."

"The villain Grue?"

"You know another Grue?" Her voice sounded like she thought I seriously knew someone else named Grue.

"How do you know Grue?"

"I'll tell you but do you mind if we get out of here? The guy who got away will be calling for reinforcements, and I really don't want to lose this coat in a fight if he calls the Empire for a reward."

The truck finally pulls up next to the alley. I motion for Phoenix to follow as I head toward the truck after the drones don't show anyone nearby. "The other man didn't get away, one of my Lusus stopped him before he got too far. Do you mind if we take my truck?"

"Not at all. I'm jealous, I usually have to take the bus." She purposefully and casually walks onto the downed gang members while heading to the truck.

Feeling the mimics in the back, I realize that she might not like being next to them. "Actually, do you mind if you sit in the cab? I need to transport the mimics, and I have a feeling you might be uncomfortable in their presence."

"What are mimics?"

"Genetically modified plant/animal hybrids made from a variety of various insect DNA designed to hide amongst normal civilians without causing alarm."

She looks at me for a moment. "I'll sit in the cab." Her face changes again as she opens the door and sits on the passenger side. I enter through the back and place myself near the front. The walls are thin enough for us to talk.

I hear phoenix call out, "Do you want me to drive?"

"The truck actually drives itself." Which on cue is when it turns on and pulls back onto the street. I have a drone send to the police after the S.C.I.O.N. badgers me with a reminder.

"Really? I should have asked for more money if you could afford that. Only the rich can afford Tinker tech. "

I resist the urge to take my mask off while I order the truck to do a circle around the area. The truck gets on its way as I look up everything known on Grue.

Grue is an independent villain who has been active for almost seven months in Brockton Bay. He was thought to be a hero when he first debuted as he went after drug dealers and members of the Teeth. He was considered remarkable by PHO for how long he had lasted by himself. Most independents try to keep their heads down, but he actively went after others. His biggest claim to fame was breaking up a Teeth pit fight with the Butcher herself present and freeing quite a few people including Shadow Stalker back when she was a vigilante.

His power is listed as darkness generation but most believe that he has to have another power to have taken on the Teeth and fought Spree by himself. There were many strange burglaries blamed on him, but nothing definite on what else he could do.

I move my tail so I can sort of sit on it, and address Phoenix. "So how did you meet Grue?"

"I hate to admit it but he saved my life," she called from the front.

"Saved your life? I thought you couldn't die?"

"He saved my quality of life, or my mind if you want to get technical. I take it you aren't familiar with Codex of the Ambassadors.

"No I don't know her very well what can she do?" I asked looking her up while Phoenix continued to talk.

"She's a very nasty blaster and the reason Lung has a bodyguard since her power works on even the toughest Brutes. Codex can get rid of people without killing them which makes her the one person I don't want to fight. She beat the 15th Butcher, for Coil and Accord, by turning him into a vegetable.."

"I went after a pimp who likes to force women into working for him. He was hiding out in Accord's territory and I died a few times slowly dealing with his goons. Accord came to get rid of me for being too disruptive and not asking for permission to operate in his territory. I don't know why, but Grue came to help me when Codex attacked me. Which was weird since he was supposedly working for Accord at the time. Accord made him his costume and he broke up the pit fight for Accord in return for being allowed to operate in his territory. He 's a nasty piece of work, especially after what he did to Shadow Stalker. Still I do owe him a favor, and he isn't as bad as some of the others."

A picture is brought up of a woman in a plain white mask and a white dress. I'm curious what would happen to the Lusus if they were hit by her attack. "There is a new throw away phone in the glove compartment for you to contact him. What do you mean what he did to Shadow Stalker? I thought he helped her escape the last pit fight?"

I hear her open up the glove compartment and pull out the phone. "Grue is a major rival for Shadow Stalker since their powers have a weird effect on each other. She is a hero, and he is a criminal. Of course she tried to arrest him. One good deed doesn't erase a list of bad ones. She badly underestimated him though and he put her in the hospital. Are you sure you want me to call and ask him?"

I decide to take off my mask since she can't see me right now. "Yes, just tell him we need to contact Epoch and what he wants in return."

"Okay". I hear her push in the numbers and her voice changed as the line picked up. I was curious how similar her vocal chords were to mine.

"Hello, Yes it's me."

"No I am going to take you up on your offer."

"I haven't forgotten what you are."

"Look I have someone who wants to ask you a few questions."

"It's Faust. "

"Yes really."

I hear her turn and I assume look back at me. "No I don't think so. She wants to know how to contact Epoch."

"How the hell should I know?

"Fine, I'll ask." I hear her shift again. "He says he will contact Epoch if you meet with him at the same time, and promise not to try and attack him."

I weigh my options. I already knew from Aristotle that there were places that you didn't fight when you negotiated. Losing the sincerity of my word could make things difficult in future negotiations. I could always fight him later, and he could have some useful information. Looking at the mimics gave me confidence. He'd regret it if he tried to double cross me. "Alright I agree to meet him. When and where?"

"She agrees to meet. Just name the time and place."

" Really? We're in the same area. Fine, see you in ten."

I hear her close the phone and put it back in the glove compartment. "He will call Epoch right now and he wants to meet in an abandoned building a few blocks away."

That was far closer than I thought. Did he live in this area? The truck was given new instructions and we got on our way.

We drove in relative silence. Phoenix did not start another conversation, so I wondered if I should since the silence felt awkward. It had been some time since I had actually had a conversation with someone else. Should I try to talk to her more?

"So how long have you been a hero?" I finally asked.

"A few months. You?" she called back.

"Four weeks or so."

She is silent again for several moments. "Are you okay?" I ask.

"Yeah, no worries" she finally says.

She still is a little standoffish, but I can't exactly blame her considering the rumors I have see on PHO about me.

I'm saved from more awkwardness by an unusual image from one of my drones. It shows a very blurry figure walking down the street, and it is the only thing blurry and distorted in the drones view. I make a few adjustments to the camera but I can't seem to get a good look.

Whoever they are, they are very skinny, and bit short but I can't tell more than that. I motion for a bird to get a closer look and I finally get a clear picture through the bird's eyes.

He is wearing one of the stupidest costumes I have ever seen. He is wearing a tuxedo jump suit, with old and tacky looking white dress shoes, and sequenced silver gloves. His helmet looks hand made and not by a professional. It looks sort of like a robot with a black visor that takes up most of the front with the screen looking like it came from a TV. On his back is a baseball bat that has been spray-painted silver.

"I see a man in a jumpsuit with a robot head. Is that Epoch?"

Phoenix snorts. "Yeah that's him. Let me guess, he is not even attempting to keep a low profile?"

"He is currently walking down the middle of the street with people attempting to take pictures."

"That jackass. The 88 are going to attack him and bring attention to us."

I direct the truck to head toward Epoch's location and send my bird closer.

Epoch has already gained quite a bit of attention from people on the street trying to take pictures and looking disappointed. A group of men are jeering next to him, and he simply flicks them off while walking at the same pace.

One of them is wearing a thin muscle shirt that shows off his tattoos showing his allegiance to the Empire 88. The youngest one, who seems about my age, suddenly pulls a gun causing others on the street to run. He is saying something while pointing it at him, but I can't hear it. The bird moves to rest on a streetlight overlooking the group for a better look.

"A man with a gun is threatening him," I tell to Phoenix.

"Don't worry about it. He is hard to hurt."

"Epoch is a brute?"

"No, just watch. Bet you he starts saying the same stupid baseball puns though."

The teen with the gun suddenly starts firing and Epoch goes down after being hit several times. One second he is crumbled on the floor, and the next he is in front of the group with his bat on his shoulder.

"You shoot like a girl," he says in a very familiar voice. He must have some kind of voice changer in his helmet. I never liked the new prequels, but dad thought they were okay.

The next moment he appears with his bat out swinging at the older guy at the back of the group who looks like the leader. The man is too slow to duck and he goes down hard as the bat hits him. "Batter up", Epoch says.

The group is briefly shocked before they try to tackle him but he disappears back to where he was a few seconds ago with the bat over his shoulder. He looks at the group and the next moment the kid who shot him is right back in front of him. He is in the same pose with the gun out and a look of confusion on his face. Before he can start firing, Epoch has ducked and hits his arm with the bat. He drops it and curses. A moment later he freezes in motion.

The rest of the men are more wary now, and Epoch loudly states, "So who else wants a taste of the stick of justice?" The group rushes him again but the man in the lead freezes and the rest barrel into him stopping them. Epoch takes an exaggerated swing at the leg of one of them before jumping back from a wild swing.

A moment later Epoch reappears with his bat in mid swing where the kid with the gun is still frozen. He spins around and brings his bat down on the kid just as he unfreezes mid curse. He is struck hard in the head and goes down. Epoch picks up the gun and raises it at the group. He fires once at them, and they scatter.

He rubs his chest and then looks down at the kid. A moment later he is back into position firing, but this time Epoch swings his bat into his arm from behind. He brings his bat down a few times as the kid starts crying before the kid reappears back where he was and Epoch tells him to go. He then looks at his bat which reappears in mid air where it was a few second ago without any damage.

He walks over, picks it up off the ground, and continues to walk like he did before with absolute confidence.

The truck parks at the end of the street and I continue to observe him. He sees a bench and seems to tries what I assume to be a flip over it. He misses and ends up onto his face. The next moment he reappears back down the street and goes around it like nothing happened. Does his power automatically force him back in time when he takes damage?

I become aware of a large group coming fast a few blocks away. Hookwolf, Stormtiger, and Cricket are leading a well-armed and more professional looking group.

"A large group of 88 are heading toward Epoch and are led by Hookwolf." I call to Phoenix.

"Shit, we should let him deal with the consequence of his stupidity. But if you really want to fight the ABB we could use his power. All right, lets go save the stupid bastard. I'll meet you in the same alley in three days if I die."

She gets out as I open the back of the truck. Phoenix makes it a point to look away as the mimics come out. I give them instructions to move quickly and get behind the 88. They'd hit the group to buy us some time. My bird avatar flaps and lands on a trashcan in front of Epoch.

"The Empire has sent a force in pursuit of you."

Epoch fall back onto his but and yells. I try very hard not to laugh as reappears back down the street. "Are you Faust?" he yells down the street.

"Yes, this is Faust."

He runs forward and starts staring at my avatar. "That is so cool." He starts talking extremely fast, which is a little weird with that voice. "Are you a Tinker like some on PHO think? Why did you choose the Faust? Do you design your Lusus or do you make them by thought like Nilbog is suspected to? What's your range?"

"I will answer a few of your questions later, but we really should relocate. A few of my Lusus are attacking the 88 to delay them."

He looks around quickly but relaxes after seeing no one. "I have no fear of the Nazis."

"They will overwhelm you and I do not believe you have the ability to stop Hookwolf. There is a truck with Phoenix and I up ahead. If you hurry we can avoid them."

"Very well, lead on." I inform Phoenix and focus on the mimics as they drop down a block away from the group that is actually running despite not knowing Epoch's exact position.

Cricket detects the mimics before they get into position and shouts a warning. The mimics scream as they stop pretending to be human. They charge the mundane members from behind who react with shock but a few are quick enough to start firing at them.

I have molded the mimic's blades to be blunt, but I can still accidently kill people if strike in the wrong place. The natural human aversion to insects acts to my advantage as they react in shock and horror, as they get close enough for the 88 to get a good look at them. One of them is badly hurt, but manages to make it into their midst.

They can't maneuver too well in the crush of bodies, but they move in a frenzy of unnatural jerking that takes a toll on the regular members. The 88 are packed in too tight to get good shots at.

Hookwolf revs his whole body up and charges the nearest group as the 88 fall back. I have them jump over him but Stormtiger knocks them out of they air before they can land. Two of them are killed outright, and the response time of the others goes down.

They are immediately fired upon and a shotgun kills another. Hookwolf make short work of the rest of them, and I make a note to bring termites the next time I raid the Empire. Their glue would be a good way to restrict Hookwolf.

Hookwolf makes a show of putting his leg down on the last thrashing mimic and says, "You're next snake bitch."

I order the mimic to stop thrashing and look up at him. "Tell Othala I warned her what would happen if she came back." Hookwolf revs the hooks and blades on his leg up and pushes it down making me lose connection to it."

Epoch is running and periodically popping ahead several feet. It appears he can't affect something for two seconds after he pushes it through to time based off of the lag before he teleports himself. He is not the best runner, and he is a little winded as he puts his arm on the truck. He sees Phoenix and I can practically hear the contempt in the voice changer as he says, "Well if it isn't garbage pail Barbie."

Phoenix does not change faces and I can see the look of disgust on her face. "Fuck you."

"You couldn't pay me enough. Stabbed someone else in the back lately?"

I slide between them as Phoenix takes a step toward him, and Epoch jumps back in surprise. "Please try to be professional."

Epoch is briefly stunned, and then suddenly moves right toward with his hand outstretched. I rise up in warning, but he steps right next to me without concern. "This body is beautiful. Are you a case 53? Is this you're real body? Where did you get that mask?"

I put my hands in a stopping motion in front of him and he steps back. "This is not the place to answer questions. We need to go."

Epoch nods. "Yes we should go and meet Grue. He will help a fellow hero."

"Grue is not a hero you idiot," Phoenix says.

"I'm wearing him down. I'm certain he will join my noble cause."

"You're delusional."

"Like you know anything about loyalty."

I am just about to say something when there is a rumble under our feet that causes us to stumble. A moment later a large purple head that looks almost like a large, glowing balloon pops out of the ground before quickly ducking back underneath. Two large purple tentacles pop out of the ground and feel around until they grab the tires and rip them off.

"It's Grabrauber, " Epoch yells. He looks at the tires and they are suddenly reattached. "He can travel underground in his breaker state, but can't see very well."

Epoch moves toward the truck and a moment later appears standing on the hood looking down. The tentacles come out under the truck and pull off part of the axel-causing Epoch to slip and fall.

I initiated the self-destruct of the components that I didn't want anyone finding, and yell to Epoch that we were ditching the truck.

He reappears next to me and nods his head. He turns as the tentacles come out of the ground near us and they freeze in place.

My avatar sees Hookwolf and his group turning a corner onto the other end of the street. He sees us and starts running at us full tilt.

Should I fight? If it came down to it, I could carry Epoch and Phoenix would just show up three days later if I infected her as trap for Hookwolf. If Epoch kept freezing Hookwolf, we should be able to get away.

If Hookwolf still requires air, the airborne parasite should deal with him. There was a bacterium that did nasty thing to metal that I had also prepared for him, but it hasn't been tested yet. I decided to try a bit of everything and see what sticks.

I pull out the right vials from the inside my lab coat and was just about to start mixing when I see the building just ahead of us growing dark.

It wasn't like a shadow or an absence of light, but almost like a hole in reality was slowly growing out of the building. It reminded me of a dark void like pictures of deep space.

Cricket sees it and yells another warning before the darkness bursts forth like water from a broken dam engulfing the street. It was eerie to see everything disappear and I lose the connection with my avatar.

I feel Phoenix tense next to me, and her face was normal enough to look wary.

I try several times to fix the connection, but it seemed that Grue's darkness blocked my signals. Based off the pictures seen on PHO when Grue took on the Teeth, he could generate and maintain his darkness over a large area. He'd be a troublesome enemy to fight.

"How do you know Grue," I ask Epoch. He is still staring and periodically freezing one of the tentacles.

"He gave me some good advice and we teamed up raiding a drug den. Grue knows everybody."

I was just about to ask him another question when Grue himself came out holding my avatar that was limp in one of his hands.

He was wearing a costume that seemed biomechanical, with a skull connected to some kind of machine or crown that seemed surreal as the darkness came off of it. His body was made to give the sense of bones and ended in points and spikes that caused the darkness to swirl as it came off of him.

He had two large spikes extended over his arms covered in blood, and I saw them retract as he walked toward us. He had a large pistol that looked custom built and was made of some kind of black metal hanging on his side. The skull seemed to be made of interlocking plates of some kind that moved. It somehow smiled as he saw us.

"What took you so long," Epoch asked jokingly over his shoulder.

"Cricket was able to see me somehow," he said. His voice was eerie and echoed like he was in a cave. Without meaning too, my tail shuddered a little at his voice.

"So what did you do?" Epoch asked.

"I shot her, obviously," he answered. "Non lethally," he directed at me. "Killing her would have brought too much attention on me. Kaiser has been extra touchy about looking weak after your attack."

He turned back around to look in the dark before turning and starting to run with more darkness being created behind him. "Follow me. I stabbed Hookwolf, and I think he killed a few of his own men trying to find me. He isn't a threat to me in the dark, but he will keep going after us."

Phoenix and I exchanged looks before we followed after Grue with Epoch right behind us. He pulled out a phone and made a quick call while running. We ran for almost five minutes and Epoch was breathing very hard when Grue took a turn into an alley.

I had the drones keep tracking the Empire and where the truck should be in the dark. The darkness hadn't dissipated yet, and Hookwolf kept going inside it. He alone was still searching for us in his regular form, while the rest of the group had split up as sirens started being heard. Several of them were carrying a limp Cricket who was bleeding from her stomach and forehead.

A homeless man looked up and waved at Grue. He pulled out a key from his pocket and unlocked a door hidden behind some boxes. Grue slowed down and turned to him. "Thanks Frank. Your payment is in the usual spot. Keep me posted if anyone comes down this way." He turned back to us and motioned for us to follow him inside.

I stopped for a second to place a call to another truck. For half a second I thought I saw a short figure with a scarf next to the homeless man. I freeze and Phoenix stops to look at me as I stare at "Frank". He seems to not find my presence unusual, and but my playing back the video didn't show anything. I gave one last look at the alley before going inside.

The building was surprisingly well lit with old lamps and freshly painted white walls everywhere. Based off the mattresses and the smells, people were living here. Ever since Boston was sealed the homeless population of Brockton had grown, but there were enough abandoned buildings for it too not be too noticeable.

I coiled my tail and put my back to the wall, and Phoenix moved right beside me. I noticed that she had beefed up more and had her knife out for easy access.

Epoch had gone back to sitting on the floor and was breathing very hard in his helmet. Grue stood opposite of me, and was texting someone before snapping his phone shut and facing me.

He didn't say anything, so I decided to be diplomatic and start things off. "Thank you for providing assistance."

"No problem. It's nice to finally meet you. Your reputation precedes you." His voice came out normal without the darkness. He sounded much younger than I had first pictured. "Thank you for meeting with me."

"What did you want to meet me for?"

"Just to have a talk about how things work in the city. Do you know about the unwritten rules?"

"Yes, I am familiar."

"Well Brockton Bay has a unique rule."

"The rule of outlaws", Epoch exclaims.

"You are the only one who calls it that," Phoenix said.

Grue ignored them and continued. "Basically independents, villain or hero, tend to stick together and help each other out when we can. At least as long, as you aren't too crazy or kill for no reason. Its dangerous to act on your own in this town."

I looked carefully at Grue. "That seems more convenient for the villains in this town, than the heroes."

Grue shrugs. "Actually Dissonant was the one who really started the rule back in the day."

I almost laugh. "The seventeenth Butcher, who used to be a vigilante who killed villains started this trend? I find that hard to believe."

"I got the info from a good source, and it actually makes sense for independents to team up against the more established gangs. They go after all independents hard. The Empire kills or makes an example out of you, Accord sells you or causes you to disappear, the Teeth make you fight for them, Lung goes out of his way to hunt you down, and you can never be sure what the hell Coil will do. Dissonant knew that having a few allies when things get rough is very useful. Anyone that doesn't learn that doesn't tend to last too long. Just ask Brownbeat."

"Who is Brownbeat?" I ask.

"Exactly" Grue says with a grimace.

I look at his hand, which is still holding my avatar, and Grue looks down at it. He seems to think things over and tosses it at my feet. I pick it up and examine it. He broke its neck when he picked it up. "You managed to last okay by yourself".

"That is mostly because I have been able to keep most of what I can do hidden. A parahuman is at their most dangerous when you don't know what they can fully do. Eventually people change tactics once they gain more information on your capabilities. I also made it a point to try and team up with others."

"Whom else have you worked with?"

His skull mask actually shifts to give the impression of thinking over the question. His mask is creepy but very impressive. "I've worked with Damsel the last time she was in town, though I'm never doing that again. I've run a job with Uber and Leet when they were hunting a bounty. I've run two jobs with Circus and Bombshell. I've even worked with heroes including Glitter and New Wave. They all understood that it pays to have allies, especially when the Butcher is in town and the pit fights start up again."

"Do you know Uber and Leet?" Epoch asks me.

"The mercenaries?"

"Yeah they used to have a great web show where they did stunts based off of videogames. It was ahead of its time and only lasted a year, but it stopped after they got conscripted for the pit fights by the Butcher. They won enough to be set free, but they weren't the same afterward."

"There are rumors the pit fights have started up again," Phoenix says. I had almost forgotten she was there. "If the Butcher isn't here yet, she will be soon."

Grue turns to look at her. "My offer still stands if you or Epoch are interested. I am joining a team to pool our resources and strength. Things are going to be even more dangerous for independents in the near future. With that in mind I want you to keep things in perspective Faust."

"Perspective?"

"Look, most people become criminals become they don't have a choice. They can't get a job, they don't have opportunities, or they were raised in a shitty place. I just want you to keep that in mind when you go after people. We aren't all bad, and my team can help you in the future. We are only going to be robbing from other criminals or from people that can easily afford it. We can help each other."

His mask is preventing me from seeing his real expression, but the S.C.I.O.N. is giving a strong chance that he is telling the truth. Having more allies could come in handy, especially if this rule is true. But the PRT already doesn't trust me, and working with villains isn't going to change that. "I will keep that in mind, but I have one more question for you." Grue nods. "Why did you agree to meet with me? You had to have at least considered the possibility that I would have attacked you."

"That's mostly because of my newest teammate. She is annoying and does not know when to shut up, but she knows her stuff. From her I learned that my power is a good counter to yours, so I could defend myself. Besides my gut told me that you wouldn't attack under a white flag. If you want to make a deal or need a hand give me a call."

"Don't misunderstand. I said I will consider your offer, not that I would accept it. I make no promises. How am I supposed to contact you?"

Grue actually laughs and some of his darkness comes off his body making it sound periodically creepier. "Check the envelope on the inside of your coat."

I quickly open up my coat and find a folded up black envelop to my surprise. I pull it out and notice that it has white skull on the front, and a sticker with a goofy looking cartoon demon underneath it. How did he get that in there?

"I'll see you around Faust," Grue said as his darkness enveloped his body. I could just make out his skull before it was suddenly gone. He could teleport too?

Epoch slowly gets up with a groan and Phoenix seemed to lose some of tenseness.

"Are you going to take him up on his offer?" Epoch asked.

"I don't think I need his help, but I won't say no to non violent allies if I need it. Especially if the Butcher stirs things up."

Phoenix walked to where Grue was and studied the darkness that was left over before calling back to me. "Be careful dealing with him. The PRT doesn't like anyone dealing with any villain."

She carefully stuck her hand in before turning toward us. "You can contact me on PHO under the username P-bird. I'm headed home." She took out her knife and with no hesitation thrust it through her forehead. There was a bright flash, and I felt intense heat as her body disappeared.

"Showoff," Epoch said. He turned toward me. "I better go to. My significant other is probably waiting to hear from me. It was nice meeting you. You can contact me on PHO with the username Tick-Tock. He turned and started to walk slowly back to the entrance.

The truck would not arrive for a few more minutes, so I decided to look over Grue's darkness. It seemed to block sight, sound, and even touch. I looked closely at the envelope before deciding to wait outside.

* * *

Friday morning found me back in the lab. The last few trials of the upgraded drone mobile network had been less than successful but there were still a few things I could try.

I was working in my old lab for once, where I handled most of the mechanical components and basic upkeep of my equipment. I was putting off building some new tools until I could upgrade the drones I had. My recent adventure outside of the docks had shown a strong need for it.

I had three of my multi-armed Lusus making adjustments to the drones, another two working on my menu for the big dinner with Hannah this weekend, and I was personally going over the latest Lusus experiment to help me travel around the city.

My first attempt was a large bird and insect hybrid but it had come out dead. I am a little disappointed, but I still enjoy taking its body apart to learn a few lessons for my next attempt. Future attempts would have to wait since I had to cut back on my experiments since I was running out of supplies and my flying mount was non essential.

I had already made arrangements with someone suggested by Aristotle, and they would be bringing in supplies by boat in a few days. My trucks would be waiting to pick them up, and I paid a substantial amount to ensure silence and no questions were asked.

Despite wanting to continue working on project X, and the next round of Butcher experiments, I had to cut back numbers of Lusus for a little while. To compensate I had decided to go with quality over quantity with my latest Lusus. I had decided to expand on my imposter Lusus concept after getting inspired by Phoenix to make a series of Trojan horses.

I had designed them to look like normal people in a variety of ages, sexes, and races. I had spent much more time than usual making them as tough as I could with my limited resources. I spent a considerable amount of time on their faces to make them seem more human.

They looked normal to me but people seemed put off by them when I tested them during the day. They instinctively felt uneasy or avoided them without realizing it. Until I figure out a way to cut back on the uncanny valley effect, I would just be using them at night.

PHO had made the observation that I only seemed to operate at night, and I was keeping to that pattern on purpose. Once the ABB started taking the safety of the day for granted, I would suddenly start attacking in broad daylight to catch them off guard.

The infiltrators were programmed to walk around the nastier areas of the docks looking like easy victims so they would get attacked. Once engaged in combat their real mouths would open vertically down their faces, and they were programmed to roar while attacking. The psychological effect of not knowing if an ordinary civilian was an infiltrator would be very useful once word spread of them.

I smelled that my latest attempt was done in the kitchen, and got out of my chair to go taste it. Hannah had told Dad she was fine with eating anything, but after some prodding had admitted that she had a fondness for quail.

I had personally cloned the quail and the vegetables for the meal. Quail did not taste as good as hummingbird despite being similar, but it wasn't that bad. I had decided to stick with more ordinary ingredients after a particular incident using nano pure water to cook.

While I was looking forward to meeting Hannah, the extra effort toward cooking was really just a bit of a distraction while I mulled over what Grue had said. I hated to admit it, but I don't think I am ready to fight him just yet.

Without the network, most of the Lusus had very basic programming. At most they could hide or defend themselves non-lethally. I'm not sure how Grue fights or what else he is capable of, but he could probably pick off the Lusus one by one as they entered his darkness.

I'd need something that could see in the dark or had a good sense of smell to fight him. It would also have to be independent enough to act without my control. Something with echolocation might work like a bat/bear hybrid.

Having him as an ally was preferable to having him as an enemy. He also was relatively tame compared to the other villains in the city. For now I would keep the possibility of an alliance open. I could focus on him when the nastier villains were dealt with.

As for Epoch and Phoenix, I had a few plans to use them. I wanted them to see working with me as useful, so I was planning a raid on a gun shipment that the ABB was moving. Lung had made arrangements for heavier firepower in response to my recent efforts against him.

I knew the date for the shipment, but not where the meeting was being held yet. My intelligence suggested that Gorgon and a few of his men were providing security. I had a lead on someone who worked with him, and bugging him would get me the location of the deal.

I wiped my mouth and had the Lusus start cleaning up. I didn't want to eat too much since I was going to have lunch with Dad again. I put the drones on standby, and headed for the exit.


	9. 2-4

Seed 2-4

I never thought I'd see a day where I found it annoying to only have two hands, but here we are. I honestly can't fathom how I ever got anything done being forced to do things one-step at a time.

For just a moment I seriously contemplate adding a few extra appendages. My neural pathways are a little more flexible, and it wouldn't take that long to train my brain to use them with my implants helping to smooth process.

No, I better not. It would be too easy to compromise my secret identity and constantly adding and removing extra arms every time I went home would be a pain. But I am seriously getting annoyed at how crappy our kitchen setup is.

I had made a mistake in becoming used to cooking in multiple bodies and in my lab's small but very advanced kitchen. Compared to my personal kitchen, our oven and stove were antiquated piles of scrap that couldn't cook nearly as evenly or control their temperature so precisely.

It didn't change things too much but I was surprisingly irritated at not having nearly as much control over the creation process. I wasn't sure if that was just a personal hang up or just a thing all Tinkers in general had.

I cook all the time now for Dad and I, so I would be the only one to notice if I made a few upgrades to our kitchen. My mind suddenly starts filling with possibilities.

I can work on the plumbing so we use nanopure water, and a small computer with one sensor would let me more accurately control the temperature. Oh, making it electric would be even better and safer. Wait our electric bill could go up and Dad would be suspicious. Should I just add my one of my own generators to our house?

"No", I say to myself. Remember the rules I set for myself. Never do suspicious improvements to your home or workspace. I shouldn't do anything to bring attention to myself. Dad might decide to cook once in a while

Hannah should be here any minute and everything should be ready when she arrives. Dad has been uncharacteristically nervous, which had made me nervous in turn. I had spent a little more time than usual dressing up and we were using the good china.

I had looked up Hannah Fitzgerald just to verify who she was and I had learned a few things. She was adopted at the age of 11, a straight A student in school, and went right into the police academy after graduating high school. She transferred to the PRT after two years. She had also earned two commendations for bravery in the field.

She was active in politics and volunteered for the local chapter of the Bull Moose Party in her free time. She periodically bought plane tickets to visit her family in Virginia, and had a prescription of sleeping pills for insomnia. Beyond that there wasn't too much else I could learn about her.

Having a chance to really reflect on it, I was glad that Dad was starting to date again. I was a little worried about her being on a PRT strike team, as I knew firsthand how dangerous things could be in this city. I didn't want Dad to get close to someone only to lose them again later.

My home recon drone alerted me that a car was parking in the driveway. _Speak of the devil,_ I thought. I made one more quick check on the food and my appearance before walking out of sight of Dad. He was sitting in the living room pretending to watch TV while trying not to make it obvious that he kept checking the clock.

Hannah was driving a new looking white Camry, and was checking her reflection in the car mirror. She seemed a little nervous herself as she touched up her makeup in the car. She took a deep breath and stepped out, giving me a chance to do a quick non-invasive scan from afar.

She was dressed in a dark notch collared jacket and pants. Despite her slim and feminine build, she was very well toned, even ripped. Which must have been very difficult considering her age and slower metabolism. She wore her hair short, and just a small amount of makeup that emphasized her eyes and lips.

I approved of Dad's choice, and was filled with curiosity on how they got together. I know that Dad is a great guy, but she seemed a bit out of his league.

She had the air of someone with military training in how she moved. I couldn't put my finger on it exactly, but she seemed a bit too aware of her surroundings.

She had a gun in a shoulder holster under her jacket, which I thought was a little weird. Though from all I knew it was probably normal for policeman to always wear a gun.

The doorbell rang, and I decide to wait out of sight while Dad went to greet her.

Should I hug her? No hugging could be weird for a first meeting, better make it a handshake. But is that too impersonal?

I hear Dad call for me, and try to look composed as I greet her in person. She smiles and says, "You must be Taylor, I've heard quite a bit about you."

"All good things I hope" I say as I return the smile and move toward her.

At the last minute I decide to give her a sort of awkward half hug. She has a strange smell on her that is like a mix of ozone and something familiar that I can't quite place. A perfume?

"Of course." she says.

"Would you like to sit down," Dad asks her.

"I'd love to Daniel." Dad held out the chair at the table as she sat down, while pushing her coat out so she didn't sit on it. .

 _"Daniel?"_ I think as Dad went to get the meal.

"It looks delicious", she says as Dad starts giving out portions.

I smile at that comment since I was particularly proud of the presentation of the quail. I had spent a day just watching cooking shows to see what I could do to make it look great.

"Taylor actually made it.", Dad says as he glances in my direction.

"Really? This looks really good." She carefully cut off a piece and slowly chewed it. "It tastes like it was professionally made."

"Taylor always was a good cook, but she's improved recently. She pretty much makes dinner all the time now", Dad says with pride.

I feel my cheeks go a little red and try to focus on Hannah to distract myself.

The dinner was a little awkward at first, since I wasn't sure how to talk to her. I kicked myself for not creating a list of topics before hand. I also had the S.C.I.O.N. make a mental note for me to work on updating my social interactions program.

Dad was a big help, breaking the ice by sharing the story of one of his old workers joining Uber and Leet for some extra money back when all they did was videogames. We made small talk after that and the atmosphere got a little more relaxed.

"So Hannah, what is it like being part of the PRT?" I finally ask.

"It's full of good people trying to make a positive difference in the lives of the people of this city," she answers.

Dad started laughing, causing Hannah to glare at him, clearly annoyed. "Hannah, it's okay to talk open with Taylor. You don't have to give her the official sound byte."

She looks a little embarrassed and flashes Dad a grin before turning back to me. "To be honest Taylor, its mostly boredom and training. I spend most of the time preparing and running drills. I clean and maintain our gear and we train all the time in tactics. I don't work every day, as there's a rotation for who is on call. The few times we see action can be scary, but you do your best to help when the time comes."

"Do you know any heroes?", I ask.

Hannah smiles, "I've met one or two of them in passing. Do you have a favorite?"

"Well, I used to like Armsmaster when I was younger."

"She had underwear with his face on it." Dad adds.

"DAD, why would you say that?" I say, as I struggled to stop myself from blushing as Hannah stifled a laugh. I made a mental note to work on a way to control my automatic blush response.

I ponder for a bit, as I hadn't actually thought about this topic in quite some time. "My favorite hero would probably be Alexandria," I finally answer.

"No big surprise there. Everyone loves the Triumvirate and all they have done for the world," Hannah answers. "I'm a fan of Legend myself. What about in Brockton Bay?"

"Probably Dovetail"

"Dovetail?" she echoes with a small hint of surprise. "That isn't a name I hear that often. Can I ask why?"

"Because she really doesn't have that great a power, but she trained and found a way to make it useful. I respect that kind of creativity and dedication. She goes at Lung or the Butcher with no hesitation. She's also considered to be Spree's arch enemy by a lot of people on PHO."

"I'll see if I can get you an autograph," she says. "Though you really shouldn't trust everything you read on PHO. A lot of their info is based on rumor."

"Do you know any juicy gossip that happens to be real," I ask.

"I hear a few things while on the clock," she says with a smile.

"Do you know anything about this Faust in the docks?" Dad asks. "I've gotten more Asian workers looking for work ever since he showed up."

I manage to keep my face calm as I initiate the mask protocol. The S.C.I.O.N. takes full control over my facial muscles and forcibly makes it so I appear calm. "Who is Faust?" I ask quizzically at Dad.

"He's a new villain who showed up a few weeks ago and has been attacking the ABB in the street." Dad says as he helps himself to more gravy. "He's all people have been talking about at work. There are the usual crazy rumors that go around for every new parahuman."

"Well I don't know too much myself" Hannah says. "All we have been told is that Faust is a powerful master who can create a variety of minions and can control them in relatively large numbers."

"I thought it was confirmed Faust was a hero and female?" I ask innocently.

"I thought you didn't know who Faust was," Dad says.

The S.C.I.O.N. helped me pull of the perfect sheepish grin. "Well….I might have read a few rumors about her on PHO."

"Well from certain witness statements, we think Faust is female." Hannah says. "But it's hard to say for sure since he or she can make or appear in different bodies."

"Is Faust a hero?" Dad asks.

"Are they fighting villains? Yes. I'm not sure I would call them a hero though." Hannah says.

"Why not?" I ask.

"Because they are a vigilante", she says.

"Wait, so a vigilante can't be a hero?" I say. "What about New Wave?" I update the S.C.I.O.N. to work on keeping my voice level. I didn't want to seem too passionate about it.

"New Wave shows their real identities and train with the PRT. They follow the same rules and regulations as other heroes do." Hannah says. "A vigilante is wrong because they can have differing opinions on what is moral. Kaiser and the 88 consider themselves heroes for example."

"But Faust seems to be attacking gang members and making the city safer," I counter.

"But Faust isn't the police." Hannah says. "Something that makes America great is that no matter who you are and what you are being accused of, you get treated the same before the law. You have the right to know what you are being accused of, and the right for a lawyer to defend you. Faust is taking the law into his or her own hands. They have no role in punishing people for committing a crime. "

"What does Faust mean," Dad asks changing the subject. "It sounds a little villainous."

"Faust is the main character in an old German legend" Hannah answers. "He is a scholar that sells his soul to the devil for unlimited knowledge and earthly pleasures."

"That isn't really a good name for a hero." Dad says.

"Actually, a past member of the Fallen used to have that name," Hannah says.

 _Wait, What? One of those attention seeking, Endbringer worshiping bastards is using my name!_

"Really? Who are the Fallen?" I ask. I mentally congratulate myself for the exceptional acting.

Hannah gets an angry look in her eyes, but quickly hides it. "A large family run group of self proclaimed Endbringer worshipers. Most of them just want attention, but there are a few nasty parahumans among them."

"I'm surprised I haven't heard of them," Dad says. "Something like that would be all over the news."

"The PRT asked news stations not to give them any coverage or attention since that's what they want. They've tried to take over broadcast stations in the past to spread their message, but they aren't heard of much outside of certain areas in the South. We almost arrested two of their members who tried to buy some guns from an undercover officer a few months ago."

"What were their names?" I ask.

She starts laughing. "Xenu and Gozer believe it or not."

Dad and I share a good laugh at that, which causes Hannah to start laughing with us.

Hannah told me a few stories about some of the heroes she had worked with, which was fascinating considering that I theoretically could have joined the Wards.

"So Taylor, your Dad mentioned that you have really improved since you started being home schooled." Hannah says. "Are you happy where you are?"

"It can get boring at times, but I can't complain. Being able to focus has made things much easier." I say.

"The only reason I asked, is that I happen to know the principal of Arcadia and I think I can get you to the front of the line."

"What do you think Taylor?" Dad adds. "You can get into the best school in the city and have a fresh start."

I curse myself for turning off the mask protocol since something must have shown in my face for Hannah to look at me like that. She gave me this look of hesitance, and what almost seems like guilt. But why should she…..

 _Everything is so vivid. The dirt under my feet, the scrapes of pine needles against my dress, and the sun heating my skin._

 _I feel the cuts and pain from trying to dig Kovan free. I hear his screaming and see him thrashing as we try to dig him out of the trap. I hear his desperate wailing before one of the soldiers shoots him to silence him. It isn't like the movies. There is no flinging back or huge explosion of gore. Just a boy I went to school with and who used to call me names, slumping over._

 _A soldier jams his gun into my back and forces me to walk._

 _It was my turn to go next. I will be the third child to test the path._

 _I'm going to be the third to die._

I put my head under the table and just manage to not throw up. I'm shaking a little and I look at my fingers to make sure they aren't cut.

 _What the hell was that?_

"Taylor, are you all right?" Hannah has gotten out of her chair and is looking at me with concern. "I didn't mean to upset you."

I mentally command the S.C.I.O.N. to re-initiate the mask protocol. The muscles of my face are forcibly restructured to give the appearance of being calm and collected. "I'm fine, I just had a bit of stomach issue," I say with false calm.

"Taylor I know you don't want to go to school" Dad says. "But you need to see more of the world then just this house. I want you to forget about Emma and make some new friends. You're funny, beautiful, and you have a good heart. I know you will do great at a new school. I don't want to push, but I think joining would be the best thing for you."

"I…I will give it some thought. I won't lie and say I don't think more social interactions would be good for me. On the other hand, things really have improved since I stopped going to school. I like being able to focus on my assignments and not have to worry about teen tra...drama. How long until I have to decide?"

"There is no need to rush," Hannah says. "You are already ahead of your classmates, so joining in the middle of the year shouldn't be too difficult. But it might be easier if you join at the start of the new semester."

Dad changes subjects to recent concerns about the education budget, and I try to reassure Hannah, who seems a little mortified she upset me. I am never more thankful for the S.C.I.O.N., which lets me follow the conversation while thinking on other topics

I definitely saw something that seemed very real and vivid. Based off of skin tone and projected growth from the brief glimpse, I am going to assume that was Hannah's past when she was a child.

I look at her as she occasionally snuck a glance in my direction and feel sympathy. I couldn't imagine what she had gone through, and I had so many questions I wanted to ask. How did she escape and come to America? What happened to the other kids she was with?

But the more important question was why did I see a traumatic memory from her past? Most likely, it is some kind of side effect from my new Seeds, but I had never heard of the Butcher, Bonesaw, or Overmind being able to see the memories of others. Why did it only start now?

My personal stats show elevated heart and stress rate, but no unusual brain activity was recorded. I have to get to the lab. My supplies have been restocked and I have put off working on a countermeasure for seed mental influence for too long.

I can't even think about possibly going to school at Arcadia right now. All I can think about is what I saw and what it could mean.

The rest of the dinner was uneventful. Hannah was going to get me autographs from Armsmaster and Dovetail. She also invited us to her place, promising this time she was going to cook dinner for us.

Thinking of what I had seen, I gave her a big hug, which surprises her briefly before she returned it full force. No one should have to go through that, much less a child. I take a little comfort in how normal and well adjusted Hannah is. If she can go through that and be okay, then I would be okay after losing Emma and mom.

I mention that all that eating made me sleepy, so I tell Dad I'm going to go to bed early. Considering how late Hannah ended up staying and my past data, Dad should be going to bed soon as well.

I spy on them with the drone while I wash the dishes.

"I'm really sorry about upsetting her Daniel", Hannah says.

"It really is okay. It was something she needed to hear. Beyond that I think it went well, don't you think?" Dad asks.

"I think so too. I'm surprised she gave me a hug."

"I'm not surprised at all. I wasn't lying when I said Taylor has a big heart. Besides who wouldn't like you" Dad says. He moves in close and put his hand on her face. She put her hand over his and Dad moves closer, blocking their faces from view.

Ohhhh, they were kissing! I feel a little embarrassed watching them, and turn off the feed to give them privacy.

I finish cleaning and take one last look at our shitty stove before heading up to bed. A little while later, I hear Dad come up. I wait until I can hear him start to lightly snore before I get up and head to my closet.

The false wall opens up and my newest decoy model untangles itself and crawls into bed. It's still a little freaky to see an exact copy of me have such inhuman movement, but I have gotten used to it, for the most part.

I take a few moments to do a little touch up to its hair and have it take my place in bed. I had gotten in the habit of pretending to go to sleep early in front of Dad so I would have more time at night to work.

The S.C.I.O.N. starts to upload the update for the Turing program to the decoy's implants. It isn't as good as I would like, but if Dad should come in, it could pass for me in the short term. Tomorrow was Saturday so dad would sleep in tomorrow.

The drones take a moment to scan for people looking and I carefully climb out of the window. I drop with a small thud and head to the street as one my trucks pulls to a stop.

I change into my costume and check previous scans from the drones while the truck heads through the docks to my lab. I find very few ABB have been out on the streets tonight, except for the guards at the border.

Bakuda has started giving out a few of her Tinker grenades to use, but most have gotten wise to the fact that I specifically try to make an example of anyone who uses them. Bakuda seems to have never heard of the word restraint, considering the damage some of them have done.

It seems no one has attacked any of my infiltrator Lusus for the third night in a row. I was a little disappointed that my infiltrators were not having too big of an impact. I had tried several times to make them look like easy victims, but word had apparently gotten around after the first two times I used them successfully.

While they weren't making much of a dent in the ABB's numbers, the paranoia they were generating was a complete success. My unwitting informants chatter suggested that there were at least a few cases of the ABB attacking each other.

The downside of the infiltrators had been that Lung had changed the time and location of the guns shipment he had ordered. After I had dropped off a payment to Epoch and Phoenix, they had been more than enthusiastic about teaming up to stop the sale.

I was planning to kidnap an ABB member, who was apparently ex Chinese military and had given some training to several ABB members. He would probably be part of the deal's security or knew who would be acting as security for the deal. I didn't know where he lived, but I did know he was going to be betting in some kind of cricket fighting tournament this weekend. I'd follow him and take him while he slept so he was none the wiser.

My own shipment of supplies had come in on time, and I paid a bonus to the men after I wiped their memory for the hour it took to deliver the goods to my trucks. Most of the supplies were already sorted out, and it was time to finally start tinkering again.

I put my mask on as the truck finally pulls into the side street where my hotel was. The monkey Lusus had worked on making sure the streetlights flickered, and it was very easy to miss where the street was.

Most of the lights were burned out, but you could make out the sign over the door reading the Step Back Inn. In contrast, the no vacancies sign was brand new and clearly visible on the darkened street. The building was four stories tall and looked dingy. Graffiti covered the walls, there was trash everywhere, and cockroaches swarmed near the storm drain.

When I had bought the place under a new identity, it hadn't taken much for it to look like the last place you would want to stay. I had already bought the buildings next to it, and was working to make the street as dangerous looking as possible.

The cameras and thermal imaging check for people looking, before I step out and head to the door. An infiltrator model opens it for me as I approach. I had tried to make this particular Lusus as shady looking as possible. It had the form of an older, creepy looking man with bad teeth. He didn't wear a shirt, and was covered in weird tattoos and badly placed piercings. A nametag reading Terrance was pierced through the skin over its chest.

I usually had it sit behind a closed and bulletproof screen while an older Turing program spoke through a loudspeaker. It had taken some work but the program fit my needs for making it seem like a real person, and to be as hostile as possible.

I was proud of the fact that despite being open for almost a month no one had come in. The hallways were dirty and unkempt, though a few rooms on the fourth floor were covered in plastic and equipment. I had interrogated more than a few ABB members there.

The entrance to my lab was hidden behind an out of order vending machine at the back of the hotel. It swung open as I approached, revealing a descending staircase. The small kitchen of the hotel was actually an entire elevator that went underground to my lab. I chose the kitchen since it was next to the loading dock, where I could park my trucks and move freshly grown Lusus from my Lab.

The stairwell opened up into a large cavern, filled with tall supporting columns. It was so wide that you couldn't see the walls. The Lusus and a few automated digging machines had been working day and night so I had all the space I could want. Most of my trucks had been busy just hauling away the dirt to be dumped elsewhere.

One of the Arachnid warrior model Lusus moved out my path as I descend and I had it bow to me in a fit of whimsy. The Arachnid warriors are four-legged bugs approximately two to three meters long with very tough exoskeletons. The rearmost pairs of legs are much longer than the two front forelegs, and serve as the primary locomotion, the forelegs being 1/3 shorter. They were built to use a powerful pincer-like mandible that is capable of crushing rock, metal and severing limbs as a means of attack. The two upper forelegs or "side mandibles" are utilized in the manner of swords for attack as well as defense.

I didn't use them because they were simply too deadly, and cost too much to make. But I was loath to recycle them, so the two prototype models I had ended up making now guarded my lab.

The modified golf cart opens its door and I step inside. It takes off with a jolt as I awaken the lab assistants. I take direct control of them and move them to the control center.

The cart stops in front of my large workstation consisting of an oversized chair in front of custom built computers. Beyond the chair and holographic display, the center of my lab was empty. Most of the real work went on in stations all over the cavern.

One of the assistants brings me a cup of fresh tea with a few drops of honey as I settle down in my chair. I remove my mask and take a sip as the holographic display is brought up to compare my brain scans.

I'm not sure whether to frown or sigh in relief that there is no change from past scans. But something definitely happened. I definitely saw what looks like a dramatic memory of Hannah from her childhood.

But the question remains why did it happen with her and no one else? It didn't happen with Dad, or anyone else I was near recently.

Thinking back, I definitely remember a feeling of guilt that she couldn't save the boy.

Looking over my recordings of the dinner, her face also showed traces of guilt when she looked at me. Could feeling guilty have caused her to send me a traumatic memory involving guilt? I didn't have a sure way to test it, but it was a good reminder to get to work on finding a way to combat a seed's influence.

After some experimentation I had thought of using Prions as a way to affect the brain. Prions were small infections disease-causing agents that are the smallest known infectious particle. It isn't bacterial, fungal, or viral and contains no genetic material while still being responsible for several brain degenerative diseases.

The mechanical arms at two of my stations start pulling genetic samples to combine with my newest generation of seed. It allows for more rapid growth in return for less longevity. I am going to start cloning a few parahumans and use different Prion infections to experiment with the Gemma Corona of parahuman clones.

It seems to be impossible to completely remove a power from a parahuman through technological means, but I think I can confuse the brain enough to temporarily disable a seed without permanent damage. My current tech just uses electroshocks on the right parts of my brain that should temporarily disable my seeds in an emergency.

The end goal is to keep a Butcher from transferring over when it dies. If I can accomplish that I can start using clones of Butcher hybrids in the field.

Unfortunately, microscopic biology was something I didn't fully pick up from Bonesaw's seed. There were parts that I could understand far beyond the norm, but making it work was taking a lot longer than I had anticipated.

I was having some success with project X, but I still paled at the projected costs in resources to fully grow the damn thing. I cursed my lack of judgment when I started it. I had started building it because I could, without thinking of the long-term consequences.

But the possibility of connecting its nervous system with an Othala clone was too tempting. I had finally managed to make a hybrid that could give one power to itself reliably.

The real Othala had four powers she could give out, but all of her clones differed in the number and type of power they could give. All told, I had seen examples of danger sense, invulnerably, regeneration, flight, super speed, and small pyrokinesis.

None of the hybrids could stand and it took extensive work to keep then from expiring. But Project X would take care of moving and keeping it alive. Project X was in suspended animation, but I would need to move it soon before it got too big to fit through the exit of my lab. If I didn't bankrupt myself growing it to it's projected full size.

Speaking of finances, I check my bank balance am pleasantly surprised to see that my profits balance had gone up considerably more than expected. Whoever the Number Man was, they knew their stuff. It still seemed a little surreal, just how much money I actually had.

Aristotle had advised me to start cutting back on the number of organs I was selling. I was selling so many, that I was having a noticeable effect on the size of the donor waiting list and in black markets around the world.

Aristotle had heard of several ongoing investigations on finding the source of my organs. He had concerns that one or two nasty people might come to the city to try and find me.

I laugh a little at that. They'd be in for a surprise if they came to Brockton Bay looking for trouble. But I decide to take Aristotle's advice to heart. It wasn't like I needed the money.

My attention shifts to the readouts as the new Lusus started growing. They wouldn't be ready until tomorrow so I put most my focus on my anti-mover concept. Oni Lee and Boli Dun were my biggest obstacles, and were still being giant thorns in my side despite my best efforts. Oni Lee always attacked from a distance now, so I couldn't catch him with a trap and Boli Dun moved too fast in her portals for me to catch her.

I had gotten inspired watching videos of fish swarm and move in amazing displays of speed and coordination as one. I had decided to recreate the same displays, but with birds that would swarm and move after movers over long distances.

Their beaks would be made as tough as possible and deliver a toxin that would incapacitate whoever they cut. A few would try to insert a tracking device I could hone in on. The bird model I ended up with was made from a mix of hummingbird and peregrine falcon DNA.

I had been unable to make a model capable of being tough enough to take the predicted stress of Boli Dun's portals and still be able to fly. They probably wouldn't' take her down, but they'd be Oni Lee's worst nightmare. I had yet to find where Oni Lee slept, but he liked to teleport to the same buildings in the docks for the best view of the surrounding area. The next time he was sighted, he was in for a nasty surprise.

I had taken Grue's advice to heart about not how many criminals were forced into crime, and was working on an alternative method for dealing with Boli Dun. She just wanted to help her family, but my attempts at trying to talk with her to make a deal hadn't worked.

She only spoke some kind of rare Chinese dialect, and my translation program couldn't reliably translate. I didn't really need to contact her anyway. The plan was to capture her, install a tracker, and then follow her to Lung. Once I took care of Lung in his sleep, I'd make a deal with her.

The flock itself was ready, but I needed them capable of directing themselves without too much input from me. The flock was only two hundred or so, but coordinating it and a large number of other Lusus wasn't feasible with my current server.

I had thought of upgrading the central server hidden at the top of an office building, but I decided to focus on my anti-seed technology first. It had become an even bigger priority after tonight.

My assistants went off without a word to the inactive swarm and started working on each birds implant. It was tedious but not difficult work. They should be done in an hour or two, and I started looking at the possibility of attacking a target to draw out Lee.

Unlike me, the ABB required rest and forcing Lung to get out of bed almost every night was taking its toll. Lung didn't bother anymore, unless I attacked an important target, since I was largely refraining from attacking indoor targets. I had the locations of two drug labs, and several meeting points, but I left them alone.

I'd only attack one or two to give the illusion that I was having a hard time finding targets to attack. When I built up my forces and identified them all, I would move in one devastating strike. I could preprogram Lusus to attack a target in a certain way without needing to directly control them. That way, I could focus on the parahumans while the Lusus dealt with the normal members.

For all intents and purposes, the docks were mine during the night. All the ABB were indoors and I was slowly but surely building up a map of ABB locations and vital personal. In another month or two I would be ready, and the docks would be mine.

====================================

I made a note to work on finding better ways to force my brain to stay attentive. Working on each implant for the flock was unbelievably boring and took far longer than I anticipated since I kept getting distracted picturing different infectious agents for the brain.

The S.C.I.O.N. helpfully read my mind and informed me it was exactly 5:00 am. I was just about done with the flock. I decided to wait until tomorrow to hunt for Lee since he was probably in bed by now. I'd spend an hour in the UV room for a quick recharge and then head home.

I was just about to disrobe when the drones sent me an alert about a fire. I walk back to the main terminal and bring it up in the holographic display. The drone shows a tall column of smoke next to the wreckage of what looks like a car.

The remains of several ABB members are sprawled out nearby. Someone blew up one of the cars used by ABB border guards.

Is the Empire on a raid? I check the area and it is nowhere near the Empire's border, which gives me a sickening feeling in my stomach.

A drone alerts me to another fire and I shift views in time to show a tall figure hefting a huge bow. She casually pulls from her back what looks like an explosive tipped arrow and looses it after a fleeing ABB member. It hits him dead on and explodes, sending pieces of him everywhere.

She is wearing what looks like a cross between a badly beaten version of samurai armor and some kind of armored plate covered in spikes. Around her waist hangs a bloodied blue cape. On her back is a large pole shooting up from her armor with three heads displayed prominently on them. Mannequin's blank faced head from the Slaughterhouse 9, her predecessor Dissonant with his rotted mask still on, and what looks like Ario from Haven. She smiles with a mouth full of sharpened teeth and vanishes a moment later.

The Butcher.

She wasn't supposed to be in town yet, I think in a panic. There hadn't been any warnings or reports by the PRT. I wasn't ready for her yet.

I give the command to scramble all available drones to start looking for signs of the Butcher and the Teeth. Her projected teleport range is supposed to be a quarter of a mile, but she doesn't need to see where she is going. Studying how the Butcher acted in previous raids she should be focusing on attacking isolated parahumans to kill or capture.

A quick inventory reveals sixteen infiltrators, one Titanoboa model, my two arachnid warriors, three of my termite launchers, a fully upgraded and costumed decoy, and thirty-six spiders geared for healing or surgery. Though everything but the infiltrators are in the lab.

I order everything I have to head for the large elevator to meet waiting trucks at the top. I push my assistants to move as fast as possible to finish the bird flock. I put on my mask and head to a nearby stool.

I command several spiders to drag my surgical suite behind me. They work together and it is grafted onto my back in premade points on my spine. I feel a jolt as they connect my nerves to it and then add the long, mult-jointed appendages made of steel.

Each limb can be heated to prevent infection, and is tipped with a device designed to aid me in my work. These devices run the gamut from precision scalpels, grasping appendages, saws, and injectors. I move them experimentally and am glad that they are dexterous enough to be useful. I hurriedly join my assistant model Lusus in finishing the flock.

It won't be able to take down the Butcher thanks the Seventh's almost complete immunity to disease and decay. The swarm would distract her though, and I could hopefully attach a tracker. Then I could direct the heroes to her location and let them fight her. Armsmaster had been able to fight her off several times in the past.

One of the drones calls the PRT and keeps them on the line to give them up to date information on parahuman locations while I work on locating the Butcher.

I spy a large and growing mob coming fast from the Teeth's territory into the docks. Zooming in shows that they all looked exactly alike. That had to be Spree, the leader of the Teeth in Brockton when the Butcher wasn't in town.

He was a muscular man with a buzz cut, and his clones carried a mixture of weapons and armor. I observed a few of his clones shoot up from somewhere in the middle of the mob like they had been launched from a cannon.

He shot out four new clones in as many seconds. Thankfully the only thing his clones could do was mindlessly attack. I saw several with guns trying to use them like clubs.

The Spree clones were breaking everything that could be broken on the street while moving further into the docks. With the border guards down, Boli Dun should be waking up and moving right about now. Past response time for Lung was four to five minutes now. He had gotten a lot of practice since I showed up.

The Lusus are going up the elevator and the trucks should be at the loading dock in a few minutes. The clone mob is outside of my control radius. If I move the network drones into a straight line from my lab to the border, I should just be in range.

I finish the flock just as I spy two cars carrying ABB members pull up and start firing from the windows. A few of the clones go down, but there were far too many for a few pistols to deal with them.

I open the hidden door and the front door of the hotel as I activate the flock. It's a little bit of strain controlling them all at once, but I get them to start flapping and they shoot across the cavern. I have them fly above my lab while the network drones get into position and I move up the stairs.

I can see Kamaitachi get out of the car and walk around so it is between him and the rushing mob. He stands still as the air starts to twirl around him. The other ABB spread out in a firing line and keep firing as fast as they can reload. Most of them have pistols, but a few have what look like LMGs.

The mob was almost upon them when Kamaitachi suddenly explodes the wind outward and hurls the cars away. They go tumbling end over end, crushing several of the mobs.

The rest of the clones stop moving after that. Any that got too close to Kamaitachi gets blown off their feet and pushed back. Spree responds by upping the number of clones and the street started to fill up more and more.

But there wasn't enough space for all of them and the clones hindered each other as the front line fell down to the wind. Kamaitachi periodically waved his hand at any group that got too close and they were launched into the air.

While this is going on, I finally enter my truck and head off. Behind me a convoy filled with Lusus and overhead the flock moves as one.

Kamaitachi was still holding off Spree, but his power didn't last forever. Eventually he'd have to build up more wind and he wouldn't last long. Most likely he was just holding him down until Lung or Bakuda could get there to devastate Spree's clones in mass.

He never got the chance.

With a huge bang the Butcher appeared next to him with the explosive teleportation from the Sixth, throwing him into the side of the building so hard I briefly thought he died. She quickly lifts him over her shoulder and teleports away.

She took him alive. That means she is gathering people for a pit fight to build up the Teeth's numbers. She couldn't have gotten far and I notice that there was a temperature increase in the area she teleports to. I have the drones search for increased temperature locations and widen my consciousness in a larger search pattern.

I get two locations with unusual temperature spikes and spy two large moving vans at them. Both are in isolated spots, and look completely normal. I spot the license plate numbers and inform the PRT of their location. The drones alert me to the nearest temperature spike and I see that the Butcher has returned to the Spree mob.

The ABB members had turned and ran when Kamaitachi went down. But strangely the Spree mob had stopped running and instead was walking slowly down the road.

I realized why, when the Butcher appeared in front the ABB guards and they skidded to a stop and looked around for an exit in panic. They were just about to run when they all suddenly fell down screaming. They twitched on the ground in agony like they were being electrified, but I knew better. While I never used it, I had inherited the same ability to project pain from the First Butcher.

The Butcher walked forward and the screaming died, as she got closer. The Spree clones stopped to give the Butcher a wide berth in front of them.

She walked up to one of the men who was breathing heavily, and smiled down at him bearing her teeth. With a single motion she lifted her foot up and brought it down, crushing his head in.

She looked like she was about to say something when the rest of the men suddenly exploded with a high shrieking sound that broke windows and generated enough force to kill the nearest Spree clones. The Butcher was knocked onto her back and the street under her feet cracked from the explosion.

The drone changed positions and I saw the Butcher slowly roll over to her front with her long hair blocking part of her face. She was coughing and heaved blood onto the ground. She struggled to get up before falling back on her knees. She was hurt badly but wasn't dead. Though she looked pissed.

I wrinkle my mouth in disgust at Bakuda's use of Kamikazes. I feel a little guilty that I don't feel anything at their deaths. I remember Grue's comment that few choose to willingly become criminals. I doubt they chose to become bombs willingly.

I decide to up my threat assessment of Bakuda. She was clever enough to predict how the Butcher would react, and set a trap that would incapacitate without killing her. The theory that the Butcher's danger sense from the Third only reacted to attacks that could kill seemed to be true. The Butcher never saw that attack coming.

But Bakuda hadn't counted on Spree being near her. Spree supporting the Butcher gave too high a boost to the Sixteenth's power. Realizing what was about to happen I sent the flock surging ahead to try and stop it.

The clones parted and the real Spree walked forward to stand in front of her. Spree kneeled down to her and the Butcher nodded. The huge crowd of clones began to surround her and grew even larger as even more clones were spawned.

The street suddenly began to shimmer like wind hitting the water. As if it was made of clay, parts of the street slowly moved up and swirled around the Butcher. She was using the Eighth's ability to shape matter to form a protective ball around her. It grew until the Butcher was completely cut off from view.

Spree looked on and without a word the clones turned and began to kill each other. I had guessed right. She was going to use the Sixteenth's power to heal herself. While thankfully the Sixteenth's power in its weakened state could not be used to create a feedback loop of violence, it could still be used to temporarily power up past Butcher's abilities if a fight went on long enough.

Screams of anger and rage fill the air and a sea of thrashing limbs spread further and further as even more clones started to tear each other apart. While the clone's bodies disappeared in a few hours, the sheer amount of bodies covering the street was shocking.

I aimed the flock at Spree and he never saw it coming. They circle around him cutting with their beaks and flapping around him. He curses and puts his hands up collectively as new clones shot up from him.

The flock flew up and away with its job done. Spree struggles to stand up before falling down unconscious. The attack had worked, but I felt a surge of anger and disappointment since it had been for nothing. Despite Spree being unconscious, the clones continued to fight and kill each other.

The sheer viciousness brought up painful memories of Brockton Bay's Bloody Tuesday. That was the day when the Sixteenth Butcher arrived to drive the city insane.

My family had gotten lucky and been outside of the Sixteenth's range, but I remember the sheer terror on my mother's face when we started to hear the screaming in the streets. I was too young to really understand what was going on, but I remember how scared I was when I realized that Emma's house was in range.

The final death toll was believed to be around sixteen thousand in a morbid sense of irony, with most being the very young or old. They were the ones who weren't strong enough to last long against healthy adults before the effect wore off.

Emma's dad had managed to save his daughter's lives by locking them in the bathroom and throwing away the key. He couldn't lock himself away in time and he nearly beat his wife to death before the effect wore off.

Vehemence had been a relatively new member of the Teeth and that was why no one tried to take her out early in the very first pit fight. The Teeth had gathered from all over to fight for the right to succeed the fifteenth Butcher after what I now know was Codex's attack that rendered him a vegetable.

Vehemence had the ability to upgrade herself with violence committed in her powers range. She could power up a variety of physical and mental abilities and she had been similar to Lung in that the longer a fight went on, the stronger she got. Her main weakness was that it took quite a bit of violence for her to upgrade herself to a useful level and most fights didn't last that long. She had taken a dive early in the pit fight and waited until the fight went on long enough that she could easily deal with those that were left.

It was now believed that Vehemence had been the target of the Simurgh's attack on Boston considering the damage Vehemence as the sixteenth Butcher did. Her power in combination with the Ninth's ability to induce murderous rage was a nasty combination. Especially once it was discovered that Vehemence could power up past Butcher's abilities to unheard of levels once she powered herself up enough. Once she got going, Vehemence could create a growing feedback loop of violence that pushed her ability to the point she could affect several city blocks at the same time.

She led the Teeth on raids in different cities getting into large fights to power up the Ninths power then forcing numerous parahumans to join them or die. She had been smart enough to limit their activities until she had the numbers to stand against the inevitable backlash. Her nature as the Butcher made a Kill order impossible.

It was only when their numbers were high enough that the Teeth headed to Brockton in full force for revenge of the loss of the Fifteenth. She had been declared an S class threat and reinforcements had been quick to reinforce the city. The Triumphant tried to stop her and instead came very close to killing each other once they entered her growing range. Eidolon was unaffected but he was nearly killed by Legend and Alexandria.

No one was sure how he did it, but the vigilante Dissonant managed to kill the Butcher just when it seemed like the city was done for. With her power turned off, everyone focused on the Teeth with most being killed or captured right afterward. Though it was hard to differentiate the true Teeth members from those that had been press ganged. For all intents and purposes the Teeth were destroyed. The current Teeth have only the name in common.

People were still arguing about whether Dissonant went after the 9 to stop them as a hero or the Butcher collective was pushing him to commit suicide so they could get a better host. Quarrel took her chance while they fought and managed to kill him.

Quarrel was in some ways the most successful Butcher. She had focused on rebuilding and improving the teeth as a whole while taking steps from bringing too much heat down on them. Under her leadership the Teeth had been completely rebuilt and they were currently active in six different cities.

I am awakened from my memories as the Butcher starts doing something new. The blood from the Spree corpses has started to flow and pool around the sphere. The Butcher was using the Sixteenth's power to boost the Fifteenth's ability to heal herself. Carnal had been able to greatly expand his ability to heal by bathing in blood and it seemed his upgraded power was able to control blood in some way.

I saw a familiar portal open up down the street and Lung himself finally arrived with Boli Dun close behind him. The few Spree clones left alive ignore him as they finish each other off.

Lung runs with his head down and smashes through the Spree like they aren't even there before crashing through the empty sphere. He stops himself and looks around in anger. He screams in rage while killing several Spree clones that get near him.

The Butcher appears a moment later from behind him with the explosion being larger than normal but it barely phases a rapidly growing Lung. He tries to turn but she swings what looks like an over sized trench knife with both arms that severs his spine. Lung goes down and that is when I make my move.

The flock aims for the Butcher's eyes and I have them make one pass with their beaks. She looks up just in time for the flock to hit her in the face. Her face shows almost no emotion as one of the birds cuts open an eye and they pick at her. She doesn't even bother to put her hands up as her eye and cuts heals in moments

A moment later Lung explodes with fire and several of the birds go down while the Butcher thrusts with her knife at his face.

Lung actually opens his jaw impossibly wide and bites her hand as the Butcher's knife goes through his neck. He ignores the knife and starts swinging with his clawed hands while keeping his mouth shut over her wrist.

The Butcher puts her face into the fire in front of Lung and for a brief moment I think she is about to kiss him. Instead she screams impossibly loud using the Fifth's power and Lung falls back with his hands over his ears.

My flock suddenly finds it impossible to fly and they start falling from the sky.

The Butcher stands up without a care in the world as her burned face goes back to normal.

Lung jumps back up but promptly trips and falls down again. He acts woozy and seems unable to stand as the Butcher screams again. She is using the Seventeenth's ability to turn sounds into a discordant mess that induces vertigo and disorientation.

A portal opens up below Lung and he falls through it to land in front of Boli Dun. Lung shakes his head while the Butcher picks up Spree and drapes him over her shoulder.

The Butcher blows Lung a kiss as she teleports away.

I swear loudly and stop the convoy. Just when my forces were getting into position she leaves.

I direct what is left of the flock to move in a holding pattern. They would be useless with Lung there, and sure enough he steps into a portal with Boil Dun that closes behind them.

I feel this rage building up slowly as I look at the damage to the docks. How could I have been so stupid? I turn and start punching the side of the truck so hard that it dents. The S.C.I.O.N. send me a warning and I take deep breaths. Slowly I feel myself calm down.

Think Taylor. What did I do wrong?

I kept my forces in a centralized location and couldn't move them fast enough to fight the Butcher. I didn't have a countermeasure prepared in case the Butcher or Spree attacked.

Most importantly, the Butcher and the Teeth weren't afraid of me.

The normal ABB members knew who I was and what would happen if I caught them in the open. But the Teeth could care less about me. That would need to change. I wanted them to know what would happen if they invaded my territory.

I smile in relief as the tracker one of the birds managed to get on Spree sends a strong signal. I check his location against my map and the convoy moves out.

I pull up the relevant recordings from the police scanner as we drive past several police cars and a PRT van.

The docks hadn't been the only place hit. Accord's territory had been invaded, and most of the Teeth's forces had been in that attack. The Butcher knew from experience that new parahumans were the best way to surprise Accord. Considering the reports of a large fire spreading over several buildings, that was probably where most of the heroes were.

The Butcher was doing the same thing she always did when she came home to the Bay. She kidnapped people and parahumans for the pit fight to try and build up the Teeth's numbers.

I am just about to call the PRT when the signal goes dead.

I scream in frustration and I give myself a sedative to calm down. Don't get angry.  
Remember what happened with Emma and the school. Getting angry solves nothing and helps no one. Clear you head and think about solutions.

Spree was moving at a speed that suggested he was in a car and he would have gone along a certain route. I pull up the route and breath slowly as I notice there are traffic cameras at certain lights.

The traffic cams do not take long to hack into, and I fast forward look at the right time. I compare every car to a list of stolen vehicles and get a match. I pull up the image and see Spree in the passenger seat.

I've got him. I call the PRT and leave a message about the make and model of the car Spree is in.

It takes fifteen minutes for the convoy to move to the same neighborhood Spree was last seen in. The drones move overhead and scout the area but I don't see the car.

But I do spot the driver of the car. The drones track him as he walks with coffee in his hands. I follow him as he goes to a restaurant with a large closed sign on the front door.

He knocks on the door and yells something. A moment later the door opens and he walks inside.

I feel my rage building again as I study the building. The S.C.I.O.N. injects a neurotransmitter into my brain to calm me down and gives me a warning about excessive mood swings.

I struggle to calm down and take deep breaths. I have never wanted to hurt something so badly in my entire life. Those stupid, fucking bastards are so unworried about retaliation that they can get coffee?

I can't get a good scan due the structure of the building, so I send out my specially grown rats to scout ahead.

They looked like regular rats but they had far superior eyesight, and their implants were some of the most sophisticated work I had ever made due to how small they had to be.

They crawl through small openings in the wall and looking through the rat's eyes shows me fifteen Teeth members with a mix of guns. All of them show physical signs of drug use, but they are all alert for the most part

In the basement is a large cage with almost a dozen people packed inside. They are mixed group of different ages and genders. A large man with glasses is trying to comfort a boy who looks terrified. I feel even angrier as I notice he is around my age.

I decide to use my airborne parasite. My robotic limbs quickly pull out the box and I introduce the chemical to activate them. I had designed them to be breathed through the lungs and to paralyze subjects. I didn't use it often because while it wasn't painful, the feeling of your lungs seeming to fill up with something moving had a large psychological toll.

I step outside and take a deep breath before putting on my mask. The rest of the Lusus are on standby while the spiders and I move in since the parasite won't affect them.

One of my trucks moves so its back is facing the entrance and it floors itself. It crashes through the wall and there are shouts of alarm as the doors open and I trigger the canister.

A dark, green cloud quickly begins to fill the room, and a few of the Teeth start firing at the truck as it pulls back. They start coughing and falling down as I send the spiders inside. The parasite should take care of everyone but there was no such thing as impossible when parahumans are concerned.

A few of the Teeth back away but the cloud moves too fast and the spiders start firing darts at anything that moves. One of them manages to shoot one of the spiders, but he falls over before he can aim at another. I walk forward slowly and look down in disgust at the Teeth.

They are motley and disgusting group. All them have different colored strips of cloth on their arms as trophies for accomplishments. Almost like merit badges that you'd see in the boy scouts. Looking down at them makes me angry but I manage to suppress it and I ignore them as I suddenly hear a strange buzzing.

I bring both of the warrior models beside me and the drones look around. I'm on guard as the buzzing gets even louder. It sounds familiar.

I hear someone shouting for help. One of them is screaming hysterically and I send one of the Warriors rushing to the basement. It breaks down the door and I see a woman scream at the sight of it.

Screaming.

There is someone else screaming. Where?

The Warrior pulls open the cage and the people crowd to the back. I move it back but don't see anyone injured. The Butcher would want healthy people to fight.

Who is screaming?

I feel a little dizzy and my face starts to go numb. I can hear one of the Teeth trying to say something but his words don't make sense.

I suddenly feel a massive headache and put my heads to my temple as I start breathing very hard. I had almost forgotten what pain is like.

I take two deep breaths and struggle to get my bearings as the parasite cloud slowly clears. I reconnect to the Lusus and freeze in shock.

The Spiders are tearing the Teeth into pieces.

They are screaming and wailing as their limbs are amputated.

Three of the spiders have opened up the ribcage of another who has passed out from the pain.

I scream STOP as loud as I can and am dimly aware I did it in my mother's voice without meaning to. The spiders freeze.

The S.C.I.O.N. gives me a warning and I immediately have the spiders inject everyone so the pain stops. I run to the to the man who drove Spree and personally start to close him up.

None of the Teeth are in danger of dying I notice with a dark thought. The spiders kept to their programming and didn't kill anyone.

Don't think about it just fix them. Don't think about what you just did and just fix them.

I move the spiders back and personally reattach everyone's appendages and close their wounds. My limbs move with quick precision and I feel see their eyes looking at me with horror. I am thankful for the mask to hide my shocked expression.

Why did I do this? The spiders wouldn't do anything without my orders and I didn't order this.

Or at least I don't remember it. I playback the last few minutes from the perspective of the warrior model guarding the hole the truck made. I actually gasp as I watch myself stand unfeeling as the spiders start to work.

I cut off the feed and I realize that I haven't been doing anything for several minutes. I can feel the Teeth looking at me and can see the looks of fear.

I have to get out of here. I immediately move to the stairs and try to figure out what I should do. Make sure the civilians are okay first.

Going down the stairs I hear panicked shouts and can see the men and women backed against the cage.

Ah, I didn't notice the lights are off. I feel for the light switch and turn it on. I look at the boy barely older than me, and move toward him when I notice he has a cut on his arm. My mechanical arms go up instinctively as I move forward to assure him.

He screams as he jumps back. "Get ba….

 _I hear the most terrible sounds of cutting mixed in with the screaming. They are begging for mercy and shouting everything they know._

 _I hear something huge move upstairs and Forest pushes us to the back of the cage while standing in front of us._

 _I feel my skin crawl as a giant six legged shape rumbles down the stairs in the dark and stops in front of the cage. It looks vaguely like a giant insect but towers over us and has giant mandibles, which tear apart the cage. Several people scream and I realize I am one of them._

 _Whatever it is immediately stops and heads back upstairs and I hear a woman's voice suddenly scream, "STOP". I can vaguely make out sobbing and movement. Forest is holding my arm so hard it hurts and I can sudden hear movement on the stairs._

 _The shadow is slender but has multiple arms on its back. The lights turn on and all I can do is stare._

 _Most of her body is obscured by long, leathery garments, which look similar to a laboratory coat or butcher's apron. Behind her back are six robotic limbs that move in an inhuman jerking motion all around her. Her mask encircles her face but allows her long hair to flow freely. It looks like a large fungus that is shaped to look like someone screaming._

 _She is completely covered in fresh and dripping blood._

 _She moves slowly to look at us and I realize with growing horror what is about to happen._

 _I am going to die._

….ack" the boy finished as he raised his hand up.

I see something unbelievably huge.

They took up the entire sky and they were constantly moving. They were grotesque and yet beautiful at the same time. They were like living sculptures of body parts that were constantly changing and moving. They scraped against each other and I saw pieces break off as they touched. They changed as they moved and I felt a mix of desire with disgust.

 _They're breeding,_ I realized. I see pieces of one of them flaking off and breaking into fragments. They phased in and out of the world as they swam through the sky leaving glowing ether in their wake. Like a giant dandelion breaking apart I saw their seeds burst apart in a cloud.

One of them kept getting bigger and bigger as it headed right for me till it was right over me before falling onto the boy into the cage.

A clear droplet of light was flung away from him and I feel my arm go numb.

I look down to see that my arm and parts of my chest are gone. But I ignore it since it isn't fatal and I have more important things to worry about.

I am certain I just saw a trigger event and the intelligence behind parahumans. I feel the memory fading and I wondered if I had dreamt the whole thing. It was like a thought at the tip of your tongue but you just can't seem to remember it.

I hear the sound of movement and focus back on the boy who I caused to have a trigger event. His eyes are darting between his hands and me.

"I am not going to hurt you", I say as gently as I could.

"Who are you?" one of the men asks. He moves to stand in front of the boy with his hands raised.

"I'm Faust." I say. I almost said I'm a hero, but I wasn't sure if I deserved such a label anymore.

"You are all safe now". They didn't look very convinced.

"What are you going to do with us?" the man asks. He was tall and his face looked like it hadn't been easy for the Teeth to capture him. His glasses were broken and he had a large cut on his forehead.

"Give you medical attention if you need it. Then let you go. But I want you to stay down here until I call the police." I say. I turn and walk back up the stairs.

"You do not want to go upstairs just yet." I say in a whisper as I change voices. I didn't want to hear my mother's voice anymore

I had propped the Teeth members up against the wall. None of them are saying anything and they have their eyes closed. One of them is crying.

I feel disgusted with myself. I'm no different than Emma or Sophia. I desperately want to get to the lab. I can't be certain if I am still dangerous to others yet.

 _Remember my rules_ , I say to myself. Civilian safety is first priority. Which means I have to get as much information out of them as I can. I will decide what to do with myself afterward. Even if it involves turning myself in to the PRT and coming clean about everything.

"Look at me", I say quietly. I command the S.C.I.O.N. to initiate the mask protocol to keep myself from crying.

Their eyes slowly open and look up at me.

I decide to take inspiration from what Emma told me the day my mother died.

"I really do not care about any of you. I don't care about your well being, about if you can turn over a new leaf, or your circumstances. I think you barely count as human beings, and I have to admit that I derive a significant amount of pleasure in seeing you in intense pain.

"But I will not kill you. I never kill people."

"Instead I am going to cripple all of you. It will last several years but it will not be permanent. First I'm going to make it impossible for you to gain an erection. Then your bones will be weakened to the point you might as well be made of glass. All of you will be given something similar to arthritis so you have crippling pain that never goes away. Every day, you will have terrible migraines and you will feel sick all the time. I will take away your vision and hearing to the point that your ability to experience or enjoy the world will be non-existent. Finally, I'm going to go into your brain so that you literally will be unable to experience pleasure like normal people ever again."

"But if you are honest with me, and your knowledge helps me save people I will not do as much, and it will not last nearly as long. Now I will take each of you one at a time where none of you can hear and start asking you questions. Answer me truthfully or don't. If this doesn't work, I have another method of extracting information from you. Though I'm not sure you will meet the definition of sentient at the end it."

It took me roughly thirty minutes to interrogate them all.

I get the names of two other sites, a list of contacts, and addresses. I heal every single one of them back to normal with no changes.

I place them back against the wall and make it so they will be paralyzed for the rest of the day.

Looking at the blood I wonder if I should clean it up before deciding not to. It isn't like it will make much of a difference anyway.

I instruct the Lusus to fill the trucks and go down the steps one more time.

The prisoners are still wary but are slightly more relaxed than they used to be. I place a memory drive with a list of everything I know about the Teeth and the ABB on the floor in front of them.

"Give this to the police." I say in barely a whisper. I walk to the boy and bow my head to him. "I'm sorry,".

I walk slowly up the steps and out to the trucks. None of the Teeth look up at me as I walk past them.

I take one last look at the building before I climb inside the truck.

I stare at my bloody hands as the truck heads home.


	10. 2-5

Seed 2.5

Emily Piggot awoke in a panic, jumping from her chair with her hand instinctively reaching for a non-existent gun. She took deep, ragged breaths as her eyes darted around. Slowly her surroundings began to register, and she felt herself begin to calm down.

She had fallen asleep in her office again. Large piles of paperwork lay scattered everywhere or with the newest batch in neat piles. It always seemed to get bigger whenever she wasn't looking.

She sat back in her chair with her eyes closed, and kept taking deep breaths.

 _Just a dream_ , she thought to herself. _It was just a dream_.

But every time she closed her eyes, she could see Adams, New York. The dead being dragged through the dirt and thrown in a pile, the faceless baby with spider legs ripping apart Stevens, and the all too human man with the quiet voice proclaiming himself a god.

She sighed and opened a drawer containing her hidden bottle of liquor. She opened the top and took a swig. She felt her throat burn as it went down, but it helped to clear her head.

She pulled out her accursed phone and saw that she had a few more hours before the meeting. For once she was thankful it was being held at a late hour since it gave her some extra time to clear her head.

She didn't need anytime to prepare. She had read those reports so often she already knew them by heart.

With a small groan Emily stood up and walked to the door to make sure it was locked. She turned around and started to stretch before she started her normal morning workout.

Working out had become routine after all the physical therapy. She could have used the gym in the building, but she preferred to work out at home.

While she was proud of her figure, she still felt self conscious about all the scars. She knew about the derogative nickname of Captain Blood because of the eye patch.

She knew she could have easily had her wounds healed by Panacea, but she didn't want to be touched by one of them. Her wounds were a reminder of how dangerous Parahumans could be and why they needed to be controlled.

She walked to her private bathroom to freshen up and took a few pills for her migraine. She kept a change of clothes in there in case she had to stay late.

After she was presentable, she headed for Armsmaster's lab for a quick word before the meeting.

It was unusual to see the place so deserted. It was usually a hive of activity. People going to and fro, and everyone in a hurry. Brockton Bay had one of the largest PRT organizations in the country in terms of non-parahuman personnel. The police were quick to pass the buck and claim that something was under the PRT's jurisdiction.

The sad truth of it was they were probably right. It seemed like everything was connected to the parahumans in the city nowadays. Between the Butcher constantly shuffling parahumans back and forth, the Empire trying to expand, people disappearing, and now the next Nilbog had to show up in her city of all places.

She made a quick stop at Armsmaster's custom built coffee machine that was affectionately called the Bullet because of its shape. He had made it after studying Sphere's old tech back when he was just starting out in Brockton Bay. It completely grew and processed its own unique coffee beans. It was considered by everyone in the building to be his greatest invention.

She hated drinking from a Tinker's machine, but she was too tired to justify not using it. She added her customary two sugars and one cream just as Mr. Mackenzie approached from the door.

"Director, could I have a moment of your time?" he asked.

She held up one finger while she sipped to avoid burning her tongue before turning to him. "Yes Ian. What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to let you know that our latest polling numbers have been very favorable," he said excitedly.

 _That's a first._

"The PRT's recent raids against the Teeth have put the public at ease. The footage of the rescued Teeth captives is trending. I wanted to run moving the press conference to tomorrow to take advantage of the good will we've generated."

Emily just managed a small smile. "Tomorrow around 6 will be fine. I will ask Miss Militia to handle the press conference since Armsmaster is still indisposed."

"I will send out the schedules before I head home." Ian nodded his head and left.

Emily quickly downed the cup of coffee and continued to Armsmaster's lab. The door opened for her automatically.

His lab was methodically built, with absolutely no space wasted. It was full of strange looking machinery that she couldn't even begin to understand. Armsmaster himself was seated at a console, which showed a map of the world.

"Director", he said curtly as he glanced up briefly before returning to his screen. Emily had known him long enough to not take it personally. That was just how Armsmaster was, and he wasn't as bad as most parahumans went.

"Is that for the meeting?" she asked pointing to his console.

"No, the materials for the meeting are already store in my helmet. The physical copies are over there," he said pointing to a stack of papers next to Faust's memory stick. "This is the latest simulation data for projected Endbringer attacks with input from Accord and Dragon."

For just a moment, Emily felt a small sense of fear but was careful to not show it. "What are the latest projections?"

"The Simurgh attacking somewhere in East Asia. We think," he said with a frustrated sigh. "The new projection data has given us an hour of warning time, and our accuracy has risen to 50% for predicting Leviathan and Behemoth."

"But not for the Simurgh?"

"No, we haven't had any luck predicting her. The Simurgh can forgo attacking for an entire year and then attack three times in a row. She is also the only Endbringer to attack the same place twice in a row."

"What is the projected time of attack?"

"Hard to say for certain, but Dragon concurs that it will be before the end of the week. Especially if you believe Accord's theory that the Butcher is somehow able to predict the Endbringers based off of the timing of the Pit fights to occur during them."

"Do you believe the theory has any merit?" she asked.

"No, I do not. It does not take a genius to know that holding an illegal event when everyone is distracted increases the chances of it not being disturbed. Not to mention that everyone knows the general time when an Endbringer is due. Accord is just irritated that the Butcher likes to send new recruits against his Ambassadors to wean out the weak ones."

Emily walked over and picked up the memory stick that Faust had left for them. "Have you learned anything else from her data that could lead us to other Teeth locations?"

"Nothing of any real significance. Whatever her flaws, Faust is very good at analyzing data. Do you think they will go with our recommendations on her?"

"I honestly don't know. We are a bit stretched thin since the defensive S.T.A.R.S. teams are preparing for the upcoming Endbringer attack. While her recent increase in violent behavior may sway them, it will depend on the assault teams status. Narwhal has kept things a secret whenever possible since she them took over."

He stood up and placed his most recent Halberd behind his back as data flashed over his helmet. He strode forward and gathered the paperwork into a small folder. "I am ready to present my findings on Faust, but we have something else to discuss. Weld has turned in the paperwork for the Wards interstate training sessions."

Emily felt her forehead wrinkle in irritation. "I thought I made it clear to him that I consider it a frivolous waste of time."

"You did, but I approved it. He made a strong case with the promise of any and all updates during the sessions. Notes on improvements, weak areas, strengths, and resources that could fill any perceived gaps. Considering that Weld, Flechette, and Chariot have just joined, a training session with their new teammates seemed prudent."

"You should have come to me first."

"With respect director, we have been over this. Shadow Stalker's exploits would not have happened had the wards stayed under my supervision."

"Are you so sure of that? You are not the greatest people person, and by all accounts she was playing ball with us. She joined the track team, used tranquilizer bolts, and followed orders."

"At the very least I would have taken notice of a complaint against her from another student at the school and investigated."

Emily just managed to not lose her temper. "Very well, Armsmaster. Let them play their stupid games while the city burns. But I want Shadow Stalker as part of the group."

He frowned and Emily took a small bit of satisfaction at that. "I have already decided that she is not yet fit to patrol or work with others."

"You can't have it both ways Armsmaster. Sophia is now your responsibility as well, and you know what that damned therapist said about her showing signs of conduct disorder. She is getting worse being stuck on console duty, and the last thing we need is her causing an incident. I would like nothing better than sending her to a juvenile detention center, but she isn't worth the headaches that would cause. The last thing we need is the Youth Guard coming here."

Armsmaster sighed. "We should have never brought her on board."

"Hindsight is 20/20."

"Very well, you have made your point. I will allow her to partake in the training as a test for going back into the field under strict supervision."

Sophia had proven to be gigantic headache. She didn't think much of therapy, but Yamada had proven right in the past. If she thought that Sophia might have a breakdown or run, then she was probably right. They just had to deal with her until she turned 18, and hope more incidents like her friends actions didn't happen again. Which reminded her.

"There is one more thing. Her friend's father has been demanding that we question Sophia about his daughter's whereabouts. He is convinced she knows where she ran off to."

"I have already questioned her and she is telling the truth that she doesn't know where she is. She made it clear that they are no longer friends." he answered. "Considering what she did to her father, I wonder if she was the bad influence on Shadowstalker. We should hurry if we are going to make it on time."

Emily hurried ahead to walk in front of him as they made their way to the innermost conference room. It was a mostly empty room, with nothing in it except the holographic window and chairs.

She took her seat next to Armsmaster who fiddled with the large screen in front of them. A moment later, holographic windows showing the other directors of the PRT appeared. Contessa Brown herself took up a prominent position in the center of the screen.

Normally there would have been small talk but everyone was all business.

Chief Director Rebecca Costa-Brown spoke first. "We are here today to go over the evidence and decide whether or not to authorize a possible kill order against the parahuman known as Echidna or Faust as she prefers to be known. Please start from the beginning."

Armsmaster cleared his throat before he started to speak. "We first became aware of a new parahuman attacking the Empire though an undercover informant almost a month ago. He reported that someone was attacking known associates or sympathizers to the Empire."

"What do you mean by attacks?" Director Armstrong said.

"Broken limbs, stolen cars, and destroyed property mostly. There is also a large outbreak of the measles in the middle of the Empire's territory, which is currently being blamed on Faust by certain members of the Empire. It does not fit Faust's usual methods, and in my opinion is not credible. But we are investigating the possibility."

"One of the only confirmed cases involved two recruiters for the Empire giving out material at a local high school. Witnesses confirm that a car pulled up and three unidentified men wearing large overcoats, glasses, and hats exited the car and forced both of the recruiters inside. Both of them were later found with every single bone in their arms and hands broken."

"Just how long were these attacks going on?" Director Tagg rasped.

Piggot cut off Armsmaster. "That is a bit difficult to ascertain due to Kaiser. Due to his lack of progress in Brockton, he is having issues gaining more allies from the Gesellschaft. This is in addition to reported issues with his leadership style. Our source has confirmed rumors that there was some kind of coup attempt that Kaiser recently squashed. With that and Purity leaving his organization, he tried to keep these attacks under wraps to not appear weak. So it is unknown exactly how many attacks there were or how long these attacks were going on. Our best estimate is between a week and two months." She gestured for Armsmaster to continue.

"Based off of my investigations into several suspicious fires and reported explosions, I believe the empire laid several traps for their unknown assailants. In investigating these sites I gained our first insight into the unknown parahuman when I found evidence of unusual cells."

"What kind of cells?" Director Costa-Brown asked.

"They are something I or Dragon have never seen before. They are very similar to stem cells but share characteristics with plant cells including chloroplasts. Large puddles consisting of these cells were present at all of the sights we investigated."

"Are you saying Faust's creations are plants?" Armstrong asked.

"Not in the strictest definition of the word. They are some sort of hybrid between plant and animal cells, and the few samples I obtained broke down at a very accelerated rate before a more in depth analysis could be completed."

He looked at Costa-Brown, who nodded her head to continue. "The public first became aware that something was going on after these attempts at trapping and killing the unknown Master become more brazen. It quickly became evident to the Empire that killing these "plant men" was pointless. No matter how many were destroyed, more kept coming. Despite Kaiser's attempts to censor knowledge, rumors were spreading that the Empire was under siege by a new Master."

"We did not become aware of just how powerful this parahuman was until we received several 911 calls about fires, reported explosions, and gunfire in the woods north of the city. By the time we arrived, the fighting was over. Though there was more than enough evidence to show that a major conflict but we had ample evidence that a battle had taken place.

" _That is a slight understatement_ ," Emily thought.

"The first responder on the scene was a man who lived nearby and went to investigate the disturbance. He filmed the area with his camera phone and posted it almost the moment it was happening to the Internet." Armsmaster brought up a 3D image of the site. It showed the iron walls forming a box, the craters from the explosions, and the huge pools of blood.

"From what we could discern, the unknown Master later labeled by the New York office as Echidna, lured the Empire into a trap. She knew that Kaiser wanted to set an example and tricked him into gathering his forces. She detonated some kind of biological bomb under their feet and sent huge numbers of plant creatures, which she has called Lusus, at them."

"According to our source there were no deaths. All that blood on the ground is artificial and again broke down very quickly. Though given the sheer amount of blood, it is difficult to verify our source's intelligence completely. The rest of the knowledge we gained is from the testimony given by Othala, a member of the Empire. I will let director Owens take over for that part of the report."

Director Owens briefly started to stand up before stopping himself. "A day after the aforementioned incident, a car stopped in front of the barriers of our office and threw out a woman wearing a costume that matched the description of Othala. She was dehydrated and unconscious but for the most part unharmed. With the noted exception of missing her left ring finger."

"First aid was given and she regained consciousness the following morning. She was frightened and hysterical when she awoke. She nearly hurt herself despite the restraints and had to be sedated to calm her down. After she realized she was under PRT custody, she refused to talk until she had a lawyer. She later agreed to give testimony and to participate in future Endbringer fights as a healer in response for a commuted sentence. She signed a waver and a Thinker with the ability to detect falsehoods conducted the interview. A copy of the transcript has been submitted."

"According to her testimony, the Empire put trackers in several of their cars and allowed them to be stolen. They tracked them to the spot and a large explosion was detonated underneath them. She described strange looking bulb shaped plants that were filled with blood as the cause of the explosion. She also reported a large variety of these plant animal hybrids attacking from all around them. Wolves, snakes, even monkeys armed with primitive mortars firing from the trees."

"Othala herself did not witness most of the fighting. She was pulled under the ground by what she describes as a giant worm and blacked out. She awoke the captive of a female figure with the body of a snake and wearing a green lab coat. She couldn't get a clear look of her face. She informed her that she was a hero and that she was responsible for the attacks on them. She gave her a warning to never come back to Brockton Bay or heal the Empire again. Otherwise she would remove her hands."

"Was she able to describe anything else?" Director Costa-Brown asked.

"Nothing of any real value. She was kept underground, and strapped to a table with a very bright light shining in her face. The next thing she knew she woke up at the PRT offices. Based off of the description of what the unknown figure could do, she was rated a Master 8, Shaker 5 and given the classification Echidna."

"Based off what Othala described, we had concerns of a possible S class threat and a priority alert was placed for the PRT. A classified investigation team was put together and all evidence was to be sent to the PRT think tanks to make a final determination." He put down his papers to show he was finished. He glanced at Armsmaster who started again.

"I took over the investigation from that point with the rest of the investigators sent from the FBI who helped to gather evidence. We were analyzing what we had when we began to get reports about a group of strange men watching and attacking people at night in the docks. They were described as being extremely thin, all were seen wearing large overcoats, and all of them had shaved heads. Despite the widespread rumors and eyewitnesses' reports, we didn't have a single recording or concrete observation. People were getting broken bones consistent with the person who attacked the Empire, but no one could remember how they got them."

"An accomplice?" Director Costa-Brown asked.

"A possible stranger accomplice has not been ruled out," he said. "A few days after the attacks against the ABB started, someone posted on PHO claiming responsibility for the attacks. She declared her name as Faust and that she was a vigilante hero who wanted to stop the gangs with her "Lusus Naturae" or whims of nature."

"In the last few weeks, Faust has revealed several new kinds of Lusus and started to attack the ABB at night. Faust is responsible for an estimated 287 assaults against ABB members. All have the same MO of broken bones that put them out of commission for months but do not cause long-term damage."

"So spit it out Armsmaster. Is she the next Nilbog?" Tagg asked.

"Based off of my investigations and the Think Tank, we believe she does possess the ability to create self-replicating creatures, but chooses not to. Her post on PHO, if true, showed that she was well aware of how her power would be seen. She specifically mentions that her creations aren't self-replicating, and gives the impression that is by choice. Though her nature as a Tinker could make it so she can't make a self replicating creation without extensive testing."

"Wait a minute. You think she is a Tinker? How did you come to that conclusion?" Armstrong said.

"All of Faust's creations break down into a sludge, once they can't escape or are killed. While this has made investigation difficult, certain materials used in mechanical components are always present and in similar qualities. Not to mention we have this footage". Armsmaster brought up a video that started to play. "This was taken from a cellphone that shows fighting between one of Faust's creations and the ABB."

The picture showed a window with a young man wearing ABB colors firing a gun. A moment later he jumped out of window in a panic, severely cutting himself in the process. Within thirty seconds, several mechanical spiders, made of what looked like a clear green plastic, came out of a nearby ally and provided aid.

"The spiders look familiar." Director Owens said.

Armsmaster nodded. "They should, as they are an almost exact match to the spiders used by Bonesaw of the Slaughterhouse 9." Armsmaster brought up a comparison photo. The similarity was undeniable.

"She copied Bonesaw's tech?" Director Owens asked with a start.

"I would have a to examine them to give a clear answer, but in my opinion, she did. There has never been a documented case where a Tinker had another power. Based of this, I believe that Faust is a Tinker with a specialty in cloning plant and animal hybrids. I have given her tentative rating as Tinker 8 (Master 9, Brute 3, Stranger 2, Blaster 3).

"What a minute", Tagg roared. "How the hell did a Tinker this powerful stay under the radar for so long? A tinker requires time, resources, and specialized tools that need to be built. They don't just appear out of nowhere."

Emily put her hand on Armsmaster arm and started to talk. "We believe that Faust has actually been active for quite some time." She looked at Armsmaster who brought up new images.

"These are headlines and news stories describing several unusual animal behaviors that we think can be connected to Faust. A gang of monkeys stealing bottles, a woman that can turn into snakes attacking the Teeth, unusual roach behavior at the boardwalk, and there is the fact that there are no mosquitos in Brockton Bay."

"No mosquitoes?" Director Seneca questioned. "Really?"

"If what you say is true, and if she truly has the ability to wipe out a insect species, how do you know she hasn't already made something self replicating?" Director Brown asked.

Armsmaster expression was hard to read with his helmet, but his mouth was in a line that showed that he was honestly thinking about it. "It is possible, but unlikely since we believe that each one of her Lusus is differentiated to test for strengths and weakness that will be used in future generations. From videos and reports, several of her creations differ in significant ways despite seemingly being made from the same samples. If they were self replicating, all of them would be almost identical."

"Let us assume that your theory is true, and she is a Tinker" Armstrong said. "If that is true, how is she paying for all of this? The sheer costs in materials and infrastructure would be huge for a Tinker to make each one of these things individually."

"A likely revenue source was found by Dragon analyzing several data patterns." Armsmaster said. "A human body is worth around two million dollars on the black market. Despite breakthroughs in printing of organs, and incentives for donors, there is still a large list of people waiting for organs."

"Less savory criminal organizations, and even a few governments sell organs of the deceased for profit. But Dragon discovered the price of organs on the black market and the donor waiting list has had a significant recent drop in price. Certain patterns have changed in the medical community near Brockton Bay, and this has led us to the hypothesis that Faust is responsible. We believe she is growing and selling organs on a large scale to finance her activities."

"If she has really been here that long, why would she only show herself now?" Director Jernigan asked.

"Its unknown, and truthfully irrelevant" Emily said. "The main issue is that Faust has the ability to become the next Nilbog, and she has started a pattern of escalation that I fear will end very badly. My fears have only strengthened from the latest reports we have gotten."

Emily felt her patch start to itch but ignored it. "Until recently, Faust has been in a stalemate with the ABB. But the Butcher's recent attack has driven Faust to new heights of depravity. She tracked down and vivisected several members of the Teeth to get information out of them. She actually caused one of their prisoners to trigger."

"Because of this I am formally requesting a S.T.A.R.S. team be gathered and moved to Brockton Bay to take Faust into custody."

"You aren't arguing for a Kill Order?" Director Costa-Brown said in surprise.

"Not at all. A preemptive one should be made in case she ever does make a self-replicating creature. But Faust could be a valuable ally, and I want her in custody as our first option."

"Unfortunately, I can not authorize a S.T.A.R.S. team operation at this time," Director Costa-Brown said.

"Why on earth not? This is the exact reason the S.T.A.R.S. program was created. We learned our lesson after the 9 forcibly recruited Heartbreaker that we need to occasionally preemptively deal with parahumans that could be a danger in the future."

"Faust has yet to kill anyone despite being easily capable of doing so. I agree with a kill order in the event she crosses the line, and that we should make every effort to arrest her if we get the chance for her violent activities, but sending an entire S.T.A.R.S. team at her right now seems rash. The truth is that I couldn't do it even if I wanted to. One team is currently rebuilding its rank after a fight with the Blasphemies in Europe, and the other is moving to support the defensive teams for the upcoming Endbringer fight."

Emily turned to the other directors. "Very well. Then I am formally requesting backup from another PRT team to assist us in bringing Faust into custody."

That surprised the other directors. Politics were alive and well in the PRT, and a director almost never asked for help.

"Unfortunately I do not have anyone to send," Director Heathrow said. "We are shorthanded as it is."

"I am in the same situation." Director Seneca said. "Overmind has recently made a large push for territory. However my team has proven more than capable of dealing with her. Once she is dealt with, I am more than happy to send support."

Emily wanted very much to shoot something as no one else volunteered reinforcements.

"If there are no more statements, I am putting it to a vote. Everyone for a kill order in the event she makes a self replicating creature?" Everyone raised their hands. "Then it is unanimous. I will send the paperwork in the morning, and bring it to the judge."

With that the screen shut off and Emily turned to look at Armsmaster. So Faust would be allowed to run free for now. She had a feeling that things were going to become more complicated in the near future. At least Faust was lying low and not causing trouble.

I watch conflicted as my feral clone rips the face off the first Butcher. It's disconcerting to see my face screaming in rage, and covered in blood.

This particular clone had several artificial glands installed to up its aggressiveness, and a new nervous system to give it brief bursts of speed. I have discovered that perceived aggressiveness is the key to whether the first Butcher fights back or not.

I stare at myself screaming like an animal and cut the video feed. With the imperfections I built in, it should expire in a few hours. Then I would examine its brain and compare it to my own.

Past experiments have shown that one Butcher could successfully kill another without a transfer happening. I had considered killing another Butcher clone to prove it, but my recent behavior had convinced me not to go through with it.

I hop out of my chair and walk to my personal bed under a custom built UV lamp. I remove my clothes and lay down for another recharge while periodically checking on my newest clone.

I haven't left my lab in days and everything has gone by in a flash.

The very first thing I did after attacking the Teeth, was work on a fail safe to stop me in case I went out of control. My power was potentially too dangerous for the world. Creating an army of self replicating creatures, making a easily spread version of the Cordyceps fungus for humans, or just making a thousand Butchers to let loose were just a few of the things I had thought of.

In case my seed took full control of me, I wanted someone or something that could take me down.

In the end I created two fail safes protocols with the two parahumans I was confident had the ability to stop me. Both Panacea and Grue had the best chance if I gave them the right seed. Potentially creating two more Butchers was preferable to an out of control Faust.

After the fail-safe clones were grown and hidden, I did nothing but try to figure out what happened during the attack and why.

I quickly discovered that the buzzing I heard was the S.C.I.O.N. sending me a warning about unusual brain activity. After several minutes of no response from me, it did what it was supposed to, and briefly shut down parts of my brain. This seemed to briefly disable my seed and allowed me to regain my senses.

I restarted my experiments and this time made numerous clones of myself. Some of them had a Corona Pollentia and others did not. I had them kill clones of Butchers, and Butcher hybrids of Bonesaw and Overmind.

I wanted to try and narrow down how my brain changed to different seeds, and experiment with Prion infections to see how my own powers worked through them.

At the same time, I went over all of my interactions and concluded that parahumans were the key to the strange visions I had been seeing. Which meant that Hannah was a parahuman.

A quick comparison of her body shape to known parahumans gave me a match. Hannah was the real identity of Miss Militia. What were the odds that the one person Dad would start dating, would be a hero? I'd have to be on guard with her from now on.

While growing clones, I went over past recordings of every interaction with parahumans to see if I had any other blackouts. Imagine my shock when I not only found one other instance of unusual brain activity, but I had interacted with a parahuman, who I never noticed!

Her presence was clear as day during my interactions with Grue. She had been standing in the alley right in front of me, and then placed Grue's envelope in my pocket.

The stranger parahuman was wearing a fitted and expensive looking body armor. She wore a colorful blue mask that looked like a grinning demon with small horns. She was a bit short, and seemed younger than I was.

The strange brain activity only lasted for a second or two when I was in the alley with her. Remember the meeting, I had briefly felt a moment of suspicion. It seemed that I briefly got a similar memory from this parahuman, which was exactly the same as Hannah and the boy captured by the Teeth. I just didn't remember it.

Studying the footage, I saw that she seemed momentarily scared or freaked out as I stared at her. She probably thought I could see her. This fear was the common theme from the other images. Hannah seemed guilty or afraid of bringing up school, and the boy in the cage was terrified I was going to kill him.

Perhaps the reason I never got an image or memory from Grue, Phoenix, or Epoch was that they weren't afraid of me. Epoch was powerful enough to escape, Grue's power was a good counter to a few of my own, and Phoenix literally couldn't be killed.

But even if my theory was true, the questions remained. Why was I seeing memories of people afraid of me? Why did I black out and nearly kill the Teeth?

The first thing I learned in my investigation was that the Butcher shard seemed to be connected to the images I was seeing. Non-parahuman clones that killed the Butcher developed the exact same Corona Pollentia as the Butcher and had the exact same ration of strength increases.

The areas of the brain that changed after killing just the Butcher were the exact same places where I had the unusual brain activity. Thinking on it, it made a certain kind of sense.

The Butcher probably did pass memories on to the person who killed them so that they could use their power as well the previous owner. But I had never heard of the Butcher being able to see memories of people near them, but after looking at my past notes, I had a theory.

I had always wondered why some parahumans were so much more powerful than others. From an experimental perspective, I would want powers to be just weak enough for people to think outside the box and try something new. But some powers were so much stronger, that they never really had to learn to use it.

My theory is that some parahumans have an important role in the experiment just like Scion does in ensuring the experiment continues. The fairy queen's power was probably similar to how the beings behind parahumans gathered seeds and the data within them.

Nilbog's extreme power, but having no desire to expand from his little town was probably no coincidence. He was probably a fail safe in case the world became too peaceful. He could start a devastating war that could greatly increase trigger events and potentially destroy any peace.

That was probably the same reason the Butcher existed. Its purpose in the experiment was cause things to escalate and increase the number of parahumans. There was plenty of data showing the number of parahumans greatly increasing when the Butcher showed up. The Butcher's immortal nature ensured that no one could ever really stop it.

The memory viewing might be a side effect to help the Butcher succeed in its job to cause trigger events. Most likely my copy of the Butcher seed wanted me to do the exact same thing. It wanted me to attack and escalate things.

I was unsure how intelligent Seeds actually were, or how much influence they had on their hosts. If I was behind parahumans I would want powers to be used as much as possible and thus would want them to be viewed positively.

Taken from a perspective that Seeds were intelligent, my own Seeds might have thought they were helping me. I hated to admit it, but things had improved since my episode of extreme violence.

Several of the ABB were trying for the very first time to actually leave the gang despite Lung. Despite the Butcher punishing several cowards with tire necklaces, there hadn't been any true raids or attacks in the docks.

PHO was currently in the middle of a flame war over my actions after several of the people I rescued told their story. Some condemned me and said that I was no better than the gangs. But many supported what I had done.

Of course I didn't have true proof yet for my theories. But based off of my experimental data, I had made a few changes to my brain. I updated my implants and performed selective surgery to try and weaken the Butcher seed.

I had yet to prevent a Butcher from transferring in my experiments, but I had made significant progress. If I could just observe another normal parahuman becoming a Butcher, I was confident I could figure out a way to stop the process. I was so close.

After a lot of thought and coming close to showing up the PRT headquarters, I had decided to not turn myself in. I didn't want to put Dad through that, and I had taken step to disable the Butcher's power. But I could never be a hundred percent sure I wouldn't have another episode. Seeds matured and grew just like people did.

What I needed was a last line of defense or insurance to stop me in case of an episode. I need someone who can forcibly stop me if I am in danger of crossing the line, and have remote control to my implants to monitor my brain.

But the question was who?

I could never ask Dad for something like that. Especially with his relationship with Miss Militia, no Hannah, growing closer.

To devote my full time to experimentation, I had played the role of a grateful dockworker. I anonymously sent Dad a gift of an all expenses paid weekend getaway for couples.

Not that long ago, such a ploy never would have worked. He'd have refused out of principal or pride.

But a chance to make Hannah happy had been too big a temptation. He had fussed about leaving me alone again, but I assured him I would be fine. In the end he left with a smile on his face.

No, I can't ask Dad to do it. I haven't seen him so happy in a long time. I wouldn't make him choose between Hannah and myself.

Emma before she changed might have worked. I hadn't talked or seen her in months, and Dad apparently had a shouting match with Alan when he called him about something. She obviously wouldn't work.

Paying someone was right out. Someone with more money could bribe a mercenary, and I could never trust such a person with the keys to my brain.

I had thought about asking Epoch or Phoenix, but I didn't know them that well yet. Not to mention that I knew more than anyone that parahumans had issues.

While I had a theory on how the Butcher interacted with parahuman's seeds, I didn't know for sure. It would be wise to give the key to a non-parahuman. That way I would be sure that a Seed had no influence on them.

But I haven't been able to think of anyone, and I don't trust myself to got after criminals until I have a way to ensure I don't lose control again.

I am alerted from my thoughts when the drones pick up something unusual during their routine scanning. Someone was climbing a very tall building in the docks. I had the S.C.I.O.N. project an image to get a better look.

She looked to be in her early twenties, and her long red hair had been set into dreadlocks. She obviously had been growing them for a long time, but they had seen better days.

I could tell through the camera that she obviously hadn't slept in some time. She had large bags under eyes, and her face was pale. She was dressed in jeans and a grey sweatshirt, with a bandana around her forehead.

She was carrying an oversized backpack that you would see on campers, and it was filled with white sheets. She slowly climbed on the roof from the ladder and took a deep breath as she looked back down.

What was she doing?

She dumped all the white sheets out on the roof and started to carefully arrange them into letters. After a while I saw that she was spelling out Faust. After she was done, she placed her back up against the side of the roof and waited.

Intrigued, I sat up and hurried to my control center. I placed my network drones in a long line to have her in my range and sent one of my bird avatars to get a closer look.

My bird slowly circled above her while I got a closer look at her. She didn't look like a member of the Teeth or the Empire. Bakuda could have set up a trap, but it didn't feel like one. The girl was a little nervous, but she wasn't scared.

She jumped a bit when the bird landed in front of her. I had it set down exactly on my name.

"Yes?" I asked her. "Are you in trouble? What can I do for you?"

She looked down confused and I felt a stab of guilt at the fact that she now looked scared. "Are you really Faust?"

"In the flesh," I said as the bird took a bow. "So to speak."

"My kid brother needs help". She started to speak in a rush. "My mom is sick in the hospital, and our car got stopped by members of the Teeth. They beat up Dad, and took my brother while I was frozen. Dad is in the same hospital with mom with a broken eye socket, and the police are too busy. You're the one who rescued people taken by the Teeth, and I need your help to find my brother."

She took a deep breath and looked down intently. "Will you help me find him?"

I give her a long, hard, stare with the third eye of my avatar. After a moment, I make up my mind. "Yes, I will help you. But I am going to need a favor from you in return."


	11. 3-1

Seed 3-1

The truck circled around the docks to hopefully confuse anyone tracking it. Inside the spiders were carefully scanning the woman who had left a message for me. I felt bad that I was scaring her. She was obviously a little freaked out about the spiders moving around her. Explaining about Bakuda hadn't helped the situation much.

Despite feeling bad, I still took no chances. I triple checked to make sure she had no bugs, tracking devices, or bombs. When I was fully satisfied that she wasn't a trap, the spiders relented and moved away from her.

She let out a small sigh of relief, but seemed reluctant to look at my bird avatar beside her. Back in my lab, I directed the truck to head for the hotel and ordered one of my assistant Lusus to start ironing my new coat. I had made a new one after the last one got covered in blood, and wanted to look presentable when she came in.

"You still haven't answered, what kind of favor?" she asked the bird with just a hint of dread.

"Nothing as bad as you are picturing and you can turn it down. I will lay everything out and let you decide. I'm going to do my best to help you regardless if you accept or not. What is your name?"

"Sierra."

"Tell me exactly what happened with your brother Sierra."

"We were driving down Warren Avenue around 10pm. It was Dad, Bryce, and I. We had gone to visit mom in the hospital. She had a complication in her surgery and so ended up staying pretty late. Then this car just suddenly stops in front of us. Dad honked and four guys got out. They forced Dad and Bryce out of the car. Dad tried to stop them and they just hit him over and over. Bryce tried to help and managed to clock one of them and they ganged up on him. They took him while I sat frozen in the back. One of them finally noticed me, so I ran and called 911. The cops came while Dad went to the hospital in critical condition."

"What did the police say?"

"A guy from the kidnapping unit took a statement and I talked with a police sketch artist. I only remember the ringleader, as I didn't get a good look at anyone else. It happened to fast. He was a big guy, with a potbelly and tattoo of a shark jaw on his arm. He was bald, and had a really unkempt beard that stuck out everywhere."

She started to breathe very hard. "I went home after that, and then the news came in that the PRT rescued a bunch of Teeth captives. I went to the police station, but Bryce wasn't one of the people rescued. I was desperate. I've always lived in this town. You hear the stories about what the Teeth do to people whose families won't pay a ransom. But no one ever called the house to make one."

"The Teeth are not interested in ransom right now. With the Butcher back in town, everyone is being gathered for the next pit fight" I said as the bird patted her knee with its wing.

"I know that now. I went on PHO to try and contact a hero but no one responded to my messages. But then I read a thread on you", she said looking down at the bird. "Everyone was arguing about what you did to the Teeth, and there were all kinds rumors that you were the one who got that information for the PRT. I posted in your thread, but everyone said that you never responded. But then they said that you were openly attacking gang members in the docks. A poster gave me the idea of trying to contact you directly, and here I am."

"That was a brave if foolish thing to do. The docks aren't the safest place at night."

"Actually, I didn't see a single gang member. In fact people seemed to go out of their way to avoid me."

"I meant that that a gang member might shoot you, thinking you were one of my Lusus. A few of the braver ABB members have started going out in plain clothes to test me. You meet the criteria for a few of the traps I tried in the past. A pretty girl walking alone in the docks at night looks like a danger to be avoided."

"I was careful. Oh, here is a picture of Bryce". She pulled it out of her back pocket and held it out to my bird. "Can you send your birds out to look for him?"

"It doesn't quite work like that. Not to mention that I do not need the picture." I said turning the bird away.

"What, why?"

"You will be able to show me exactly how he looks like when we get to my lab."

"Lab? So you really are a Tinker like everyone has been saying."

"Yes I am a Tinker. What do you mean everyone?"

"Everyone on PHO is arguing you are a Tinker because there is video of your spiders attacking the ABB. Everyone says they are very similar to Bonesaw's stuff and that a Tinker doesn't have another power."

"Actually in very rare cases a Tinker might have another minor ability. But everyone already suspecting my real power is a pity. I thought I would be able to keep it a secret for longer. I will have to make security arrangements for future supply drops at the docks."

"Why are you admitting all of this to me?" she asked.

"Because you might not remember it. If you turn me down, I will erase the last hour or so of your memory. Then make it so it seems that I found you. If you do take me up on my offer, I will make it so you physically can't tell anyone my secrets through a powerful mental block. Though again, I will try to help you regardless if you accept my deal to the best of my ability."

Sierra tried to say something but I hushed her. "No more questions. I will tell you everything momentarily, we are here." I said.

Sierra startled a bit as the truck came to a sudden stop. My bird hopped onto her shoulders as the doors opened at the back. "Get off and enter the hotel", I said.

She carefully dropped off the truck so the bird wasn't jolted. The truck took off and she turned to briefly stare at it before turning toward my hotel.

"The Step-Back Inn? Why would you hide your lab in a hotel?"

"It was for sale on the cheap, and the street could look dangerous enough to discourage visitors with a little work", my bird said. "Not to mention that it is in a central location. Now go inside quickly. There are things in this city that could be watching."

She hesitated for a brief moment before opening the door and walking to the front desk. She made a face and covered her nose. "It smells like vomit, and sweat in here. You might have gone overboard with the smell, if you don't wont things to be suspicious."

"I will take that under advisement."

We walked to the front desk, and Sierra held her nose when she saw the Terrance infiltrator. The door opened for us, and she quickly hurried through. She turned briefly to stare at the window. "Can you really make sentient human beings like a few people on PHO are saying?" she asked.

"They are human looking so they don't scare anyone, but they are not human." I answered. "I swore to never make a sentient being when I first discovered my power. Please walk along the side of the walls until I tell you to stop, and to the back of the hotel."

"Why?"

"The floor is booby-trapped and there are several pressure plates hidden in the tiles. To answer your future question, a troublesome imp works for Grue."

We walked the rest of the way in silence as I directed Sierra to the back of the hotel while avoiding several traps. It took a while since she was so slow, but we finally arrived to the out of order soda machine. "Push the water and return change button at the same time" I said.

Sierra did as she was told and jumped back as the wall opened up to reveal a narrow staircase. I saw her heart rate had started to accelerate as she stared into the dark. "What is down there?"

"My main lab, and my real body."

"I can't see anything."

"Oh, I apologize. I forget that people can't normally see in the dark." I command the Terrance infiltrator to leave it's booth, and pick up a nearby flashlight. Sierra heard the steps and made a disgusted face when she started to smell it. She carefully looked away from it as she reluctantly accepted the flashlight.

She briefly hesitated before she went down the steps. She walked with her hand on the wall and took her time. I moved the Warrior models away from the stairs as she came down so she wouldn't see them. There was no need to scare her anymore than I already had. "Take the golf cart to the right of the stairs. Drive a little slowly toward the light in the distance".

I check my appearance through another one of my bird's eyes to make sure I got rid of all the blood. I curse when I realize I only have the one chair. Should I sit in it or let her sit? Stand while she sat down would look like I was talking down to her, and forcing her to stand didn't send the right message. Screw it; I will just have the spiders turn themselves into a chair for me.

I command them to come running, and they quickly start dismantling themselves in front of me. A separate group articulate and puts the pieces together into a place I can sit. It isn't very comfortable, and I make a note to add more chairs at some point as I hear the golf cart coming closer. Despite myself, I feel nervous. It reminds me of first meeting Hannah.

I try not to fidget as the cart finally comes into the light over my control center. I hear Sierra take a sharp breathe when she finally sees me. I have an unpleasant flashback to the boy I caused to have a trigger event.

I motion for her to sit in the empty chair, but she is just standing there and staring at me. I move my bird to fly from her shoulder and pass by me. This seems to catches her attention and she moves forward to sit opposite me.

"It's nice to see you in the flesh, Sierra. I suppose I should start at the beginning. I, like many other parahumans, did not have the easiest of lives. I suppose every child dreams what they would do if they triggered, and followed my old desire to be a hero."

"I grew up here, and I have seen this city endure such hardship. I saw families kill each other during Blood Tuesday, I saw open war in the streets thanks to Lung attacking the Chain Gang, and I saw the Marquis's rampage that ravaged downtown. I'm sure you've seen your share of violence in the past if you grew up here."

"I lost my uncle in Bloody Tuesday" Sierra said quietly.

"I'm sorry for your loss. I almost lost a sister that day, and I can sympathize with the fear you must have felt that day. My mom was hopeful things would change for the better after the Butcher was stopped, but nothing ever really got better did it? The gangs got stronger no matter what the heroes or the police did. You learned not to go to certain places, to have some money on you so if a person mugged you they wouldn't be mad you had nothing, and well armed security guards became a common sight. I was so excited when I triggered and I was so certain that I could make a difference in this city. But it was not meant to be."

Sierra quietly raised her hand. "You don't have to raise your hand, Sierra. What is your question?"

"Why didn't you join the heroes? You're so strong, and you admit they could use the help?"

"My power, as it used to be, was almost useless at being a hero because it was too dangerous. The Lusus back then were not capable of operating near people safely, and be realistic Sierra. Do you really think the person they are calling the next Nilbog would have been treated fairly and allowed to experiment? No, I have some experience with authority, and they do not like people trying to rock the boat.

"What do you mean as it used to be?"

"I have studied parahumans extensively and in ways that very few others have. In my experiments, I found a way to expand and improve my own power. It would solve all of my problems, and give me the power to bring the fight against the gangs. They would be the ones afraid to go out at night, and they would be the ones who would learn to modify their behavior to not become a target. But the method I found was a terrible, blasphemous, and dangerous. There were so many things that could go wrong, and I took a terrible risk."

"It could have killed you?"

"Death is probably the least of the things that could have happened. There was a chance of becoming violently insane or creating a S class threat." Sierra paled when she heard that.

"How knowledgeable are you on parahumans, Sierra?" I asked.

"Just the basics covered in my classes. I took something else instead of parahuman studies since business didn't require it."

"Well it is understood that a parahuman's powers can affect their mind in certain ways. They can receive an urge or perhaps an instinct to use their powers. I for example, become very relaxed and receive a pleasurable experience just tinkering or using my power. The method I used to upgrade myself could affect me in a similar way, but on a much greater scale. I took extensive precautions in case there was a problem. I modified my brain, changed my genes, and installed a system to help control my anger."

"So it worked?"

"For a time there were no issues, but there was an an unforeseen side effect. I'm sure you know what I did to the Teeth, right?"

"Yes, I know what you did."

"That was not supposed to happen. One of the rules I follow is that I will never kill. But I lost control, and I came very close to breaking that rule. After that, I went back to the drawing board. I continued my experiments, and I think I've fixed the problem. But a parahuman's power grows and matures along with parahuman, so there is a chance of another problem down the line. I want to make sure that I will never cross that line again. That is where you come in."

"What exactly do you want me to do?"

"I cannot trust myself to be near other people or parahumans without a form of insurance. I need you to connect to my mind through a special implant that I would put in your brain. You would constantly monitor my brain activity, and actions. If I cross a line or break an agreed upon rule, you would stop me".

"How would I do that?"

"A parahuman's power connects through the brain. I have an implant that would temporarily shut off my powers or stun my body. You would have the button to that implant. It wouldn't be forever. No more than a few months of watching at most. By then I'd know if it was safe for me to be near people again."

"So it would require surgery?"

"Yes, but it would be my surgery. Painless, and I would upgrade whatever you wish far beyond the human norm. I guarantee it would add at least three decades to your life. I would also pay you several million dollars, and make finding Bryce my number one priority."

"What is the catch?"

"You would have a mental block that would make it impossible for you to say certain things. You would have to be by my side whenever I use my powers near other people, and it could be dangerous. I am fairly certain I am wanted by the PRT, so you would be aiding and abetting someone with a warrant out for their arrest. You would also work for me and do whatever I said. I won't ask you to do anything you aren't comfortable with, but I won't lie and say things might not get crazy later on."

"What about Bryce? You said you'd still help him even if I say no?"

"Yes, I would do everything in my power to help him short of taking physical action. I simply won't risk going out into the field without someone like you around. Regardless of your answer, I am going to perform a procedure that greatly improves your memory and retention skills. You would be able to project a perfect picture of you assailants, and I have contacts that could find their identity for me. I would reach out to allies and have them bug or tail the Teeth to find the Pit Fight where Bryce will be. But I would not take a physical part in the process."

"But you'd erase my memory of all this if I say no?"

"Yes I would erase your memory. I have too many enemies for me to trust you to go out in the world without a way to ensure you can't tell what you have learned. I have people I must protect."

She sat there for several minutes thinking while I stayed silent. It was a lot to take in, but we still had time before erasing the last hour of her memory wasn't feasible.

Finally she stood up. "I will do it, but only if you promise me one other thing."

"Name it."

"I used to go to church with mom, and I have always considered myself a pacifist. So trust me when I tell you, that whatever punishment you are planning for the Teeth, they deserve it and more. I want you to double it, triple it. I want you to promise that the people who took Bryce can never hurt anyone again."

"Then we have an accord," I said as I held out my hand.

She looked at it for a second before confidently shaking it.

"Welcome to my world, Sierra. Lets get started."

The surgery took almost an hour. I gave Sierra the works. She had increased reflexes, a stronger and tougher body, and she had limited access to directing the Lusus. I also made it so she required far less sleep, and gave her several gene therapies that would help her.

But her mind was the real work of art. I upgraded her memory and analytical skills to the point that I think she qualified as a Thinker 1. She had enhanced reflexes, a full view of the S.C.I.O.N.'s records, and a way to temporarily disable my powers. I also added the mental block that would prevent her from telling my secrets.

I woke her up partway through the procedure to have her picture the men who took her brother. It was very easy using Overmind's tech. After I finished, I gave her a nutrient pack, and let her sleep a little longer. Her body needed a little more rest.

I switched on my computer and connected to the private server Aristotle had reserved for our communication. Hopefully everything we needed to know would be ready before she woke up. Before that I checked up on PHO and was a little surprised at how big the thread had gotten. I had private messages from Phoenix and Epoch.

Epoch informed me that there was a big Independents meeting happening tomorrow night. A meeting was apparently always held at a local bar considered neutral ground whenever the Butcher came back to town. Representatives of New Wave, and Grue were going to be there.

I was still a bit unsettled with Grue. The prototype I made to fight him wasn't ready yet, and I would have to work on it tomorrow after Dad got back to have it ready for the meeting. Grue had a reputation of keeping his word if PHO was anything to go by, but his power was too good a counter to mine to not take precautions.

Phoenix had asked if I wanted to patrol together and thanked me again for the money. I sent her a reply asking if she was free tonight. I would need to take Sierra and my powers for a test drive. Having some back up wouldn't hurt in case things went wrong. With that done, I opened up my chat.

Greenhands: Hello Aristotle.

Aristotle: Back at you Greenhands or do you prefer your chosen name? It has been awhile. I was worried you had forgotten about little old me.

Greenhands: Either name will be fine. You responded in exactly 33 seconds, a new record. You will have to tell me how you seem to always know when I am online.

Aristotle: It isn't anything that complicated. You are my most important client, and I have an alert set up just for you. What can I do for you Gre…Faust? Just for the record, there had been quite a bit of speculation in certain circles about why you chose that name. Care to enlighten me?

Greenhands: I'm afraid the reason for my name will have to remain a secret. It is a personal matter. I contacted you for help in tracking down a few members of the Teeth. I am sending you pictures now. I need names, addresses, known associates, and whatever else you can find.

Aristotle: Hmm…I'll have these for you in a jiffy. May I ask why you care about these four in particular?

Greenhands: They are recruiting for the next pit fight, and I want to find it. Unless you happen to know where it is?

Aristotle: Unfortunately, I do not know where it is. The Butcher has always been unpredictable in certain areas. Even more so after the Fourteenth's Thinker ability was added. I do know it is being held in a week, which is the estimated time of arrival of the Simurgh. The Butcher likes to hold them when the eyes of the heroes are elsewhere.

Greenhands: Any tips or advice for finding it?

Aristotle: Before we go further, I have a few concerns. Your continued well-being is very important to me, and you have acted a little, shall we say erratic recently. So let me ask you straight out. Are you sane?

Greenhands: Sanity is relative, especially when parahumans are concerned. Does an insane person know that they are insane? I believe I am sane, and have recently taken steps to ensure I do not cross certain lines. Is it my well being you care for or the money I make for you?

Aristotle: You wound me. I will not lie and say that the money was not very, very, good. But I'm a fan. I actually appreciate what you are trying to do. Fuck the Protectorate and the PRT. They are nothing more than a glorified PR group. Do you want to know an interesting factoid? The docks you operate in are currently the safest place in the city. There has been an 80% decrease in violent crime since you showed up there.

Greenhands: That is very good to know, and thank you for the praise. But I haven't even truly started yet. Just for the record, what would you have done if I had said I wasn't sane?

Aristotle: Tried to determine if you were serious, try to see if there was a way to help you, and barring that, do everything in my power to make sure you never go out of control. Nilbog, for all he did just wanted a home. You want much more than that. You want to make a true change to the city.

Greenhands: "If there is no struggle, there is no change."

Aristotle: Fredrick Douglas.

Greenhands: What if I find the right member of the Teeth and interrogate them for the pit fight's location?

Aristotle: It's possible but a bit of a long shot. The Butcher has been doing this for years. Any member who knows where it is being held is on lock down at the site preparing for it. No one gets the location until the last minute, and they just move it to another site if they get a hint of cops or heroes.

Greenhands: Surely someone has to know something. Could I offer a reward for the location?

Aristotle: The thing you have to understand is that the Teeth are not like any other gang. Most gangs or drug syndicates are built like corporations. The vast majority make next to nothing compared to the few at the top who make everything. But the Teeth do not work like that. The Butcher could care less about money. All of their profits are put into a pool that is shared equally. The most minor member makes more than most in Brockton Bay. The more trophies you earn, the bigger your share of the pool. If you don't earn your keep, you get a smaller share.

The Butcher also does something to control the higher members, and the collective seems to have a way to sniff out people who lie or try to spy on them. Coil has tried several times to get a spy in their ranks, but they are always found out when the Butcher comes back to town. The Butcher did to them what they/she/it does to all traitors, spies, and rats. She ate them alive. Literally.

The Teeth you interrogated are mostly likely dead at this point. I suspect the few left will make bail and be forced to risk their lives as a distraction in the city while the pit fight is held outside the city limits. It would have to be a hell of a bribe. You scare the Teeth shitless, but so does the Butcher.

Greenhands: Would placing a tracker on a few members work?

Aristotle: The Butcher has a knack for sniffing those out through some unknown means. I suspect through the 14ths unknown power. His name was Chaos Factor. But it isn't perfect. I suspect a large enough number of trackers would let you follow a mark to the fight if you got creative enough.

Greenhands: Well that is a plan at least. How did Grue break up a fight then, if it is so hard to find?

Aristotle: Grue seems to have a means of hiding from even the Butcher's senses in his Darkness. He pretended to be a new recruit, infiltrated the fight, and generated his darkness over the whole area. Manpower and Lady Photon of New Wave were forced to participate in that fight or they would kill a kidnapped LazerDream. Grue rescued LazerDream, drugged Spree so his clones attacked everyone, and cleared the darkness over the prisoners allowing them to escape. Grue is known for working with other independents in return for favors or in pursuit of a greater score. I can contact him for you, but you should be careful of his darkness.

Greenhands: I've already met Grue, and I recently discovered one of his secrets. I am confident I can deal with him if he became a problem.

Aristotle: Would you be interested in sharing that secret?

Greenhands: No, or at least not yet. Grue is not bad compared to the other villains in this town, and I would prefer to save it as a trump card.

Aristotle: How about a trade for some info on one of his teammates?

Greenhands: Didn't you just say I am your best client? You could give me that info for free.

Aristotle: Very well, I am sending you everything I know on Rachel Lindt aka Bitch. But I want a few upgrades to my body at a later date. That should be child's play for someone people are calling the greatest wetware tinker in the western hemisphere, if not the world.

Greenhands: By the golden, naked, idiot, does everyone know I am a Tinker?

Aristotle: You should have kept those spiders of yours a bit more hidden. But yes, everyone important knows you are a Tinker. Armsmaster and Dragon figured it out, and certain people have a way to gain information from the PRT.

Greenhands: Rachel has not had the best childhood going off of your file. You think the murders were an accident?

Aristotle: She was abused for a long time, and her foster mother was going to drown her puppy in front of her. Honestly, she would have gotten manslaughter and been out by now if she had a good lawyer. It the same reason prisons started cutting back on solitary after another prisoner triggered and killed some. You can't abuse someone and not be aware of the possibility of them triggering.

Greenhands: You said earlier that certain people have a way of getting information from the PRT. Do you know what they are saying about me?

Aristotle: You are the next possible Nilbog, and there is now a warrant out for your arrest. A kill order has also bee pre-approved in the event you make a self-replicating organism.

Greenhands: Disappointing, but not terribly surprising considering my recent actions. Though it will make working with other heroes difficult, and I really wanted to work with Panacea. Anything else?

Aristotle: The local director asked for a S.T.A.R.S. team to come to assist them in apprehending you. Though due to their recent losses in Europe, and the upcoming Endbringer attack, the request was denied. She also took an unusual step of asking for reinforcements from other cities. For the moment, no one has any help to spare. But that could change in the future. You are scaring people quite badly. Just for the record, what would you do if the PRT sent everything they had at you?

Greenhands: Try to lead them on so they destroy the gangs for me, like they should be doing in the first place. It boggles my mind that the Butcher is still allowed to go free.

Aristotle: The Butcher is a special case. Are you really so confident against them?

Greenhands: The PRT has no idea what I am or what I can really do. There are lines I will not cross, and there are certain heroes I have a vested interest in. But make no mistake; I am not someone you want as a enemy. Lets say I find the pit fight, what kind of force could I expect there?

Aristotle: Brockton Bay, as the home base of the Teeth, is special in terms of membership. The Butcher moves Teeth in and out of Brockton to keep Accord and the Empire on their toes. They have almost forty parahumans spread over six cities. There will be between a dozen and sixteen parahuman members at the next pit fight, as well as at least a thousand normal gang members.

I've already sent you their profiles in the past, but the ones I can confirm will be there are:

Spree: His clones aren't capable of much thought and get stupider to the point they can't mentally breathe. But he can slow the process down if he is near them and keep them docile. It's a right of passage for pit fighters to kill his clones. Aim for the guy who is not screaming at the top of his lungs.

Skinslip: He can stretch and grapple with his skin a great distance. He can also stick on new skin from his victims, but it slowly rots despite his small healing factor. He doesn't do well in flat environments, and prefers to attack from behind.

Vex: She can make tiny force fields that are razor sharp in empty space. They aren't that strong though think razor wire.

Animos: It takes time for his change form to recharge, and his scream doesn't do much against Tinkers. He can stay transformed for exactly 32 seconds, and he requires 44 seconds to recharge. Though repeated use of his power tires him out.

Hemorrhagia: Butcher's second in command, who goes with her everywhere instead of leading a city. She is a vicious little bastard, but a decent leader by Teeth standards. She is also the one who holds captured parahumans. Being forced to drink her blood poisons them and puts them in a drugged stupor. Knock her out and any captured parahumans will be active.

Reaver: New recruit who just earned his bones. He is a flexible brute with a point system. He as a pool of points he can put into either toughness or strength.

Rebar: Shaker who can make blocky forcefields that hit people like a battering ram. Skidmark's right hand man and he is very dangerous in a fight. He has killed three of Accord's ambassadors in the past.

Squealer: Tinker with an emphasis on big and advanced vehicles. Maintains a weird Truckasaurus rip-off that cloaks the area visually. Makes it easier to hide the Teeth's festivities. Used to date Skidmark before the Butcher moved her to Detroit.

Fog and Night: A former married couple that was given by an organization in Germany to the Empire. The Butcher captured them and broke their loyalty. They aren't married anymore or very sane, but always fight together. Night is the most powerful member of the Teeth when no one can see her. They are easy to recognize by the fact they are always dressed like they stepped out of a picture taken in the 50's.

Mush: Makes a body out of trash, glass, and metal. But he still needs to breath, and leaves an air hole open in the nape of the neck of his body.

Skidmark: Rising star of the Teeth in Brockton and he might be made the leader over Spree. Not much of a fighter, but he made the Teeth a lot of money on the darknet before Dragon shut it down. He is very quiet and methodical. He is also the only guy in the Teeth that never touches their products.

There will also be a few new recruits who have to earn their bones at the fight.

Greenhands: Thank you for the info. How is the Teeth info coming along?

Aristotle: Found it awhile ago, but I'm afraid its mostly dead ends. They burned off their fingerprints like many of the Teeth, and have no listed address. I apologize for not finding it. But I did find three gathering places of the Teeth. A hideout, a drug den, and a lab. I am sending you what I found now. Will there be anything else?

Greenhands: No, that is everything for now. Thank you Aristotle.

Aristotle: Give them hell Faust.

I logged off and checked on Sierra while my assistant Lusus continued to work on my trump card for the Teeth pit fight. It had taken a long time to make, but my disease was finally ready. It would spread in minutes, completely incapacitate for days, and wouldn't kill anyone. Best of all, it could be cured very quickly.

The plan was to detonate it in a giant cloud and give the cure to the prisoners while I called for reinforcements. Then let the heroes and police pick up the incapacitated members. The dispersal unit was almost ready.

I was just about to go check up on project x when the S.C.I.O.N. sent me message from Phoenix saying she would ready in an hour. I sent her a place we would meet near one of the addresses Aristotle had sent me and had the spiders wake up Sierra.

She stirred slowly and yawned as she got up. -Time to wake up Sierra- I said.

She jumped up suddenly and looked around. "Where are you? How are you in my head?"

-I am 100 yards east of you in a storage compartment. You have an internal communicator installed so we can discuss things privately. Just think something at me while activating it-

-Can you hear this?-

-Yes, I can hear it. I apologize for startling you-

-That is all right; just give me a warning first-

How are you feeling?-

-I'm feeling really good actually- My avatar can see her walk around and examine her body. -My body feels so light, and I can see everything so clearly in the dark-

-I gave you quite a few physical upgrades. You have better than 20 20 vision. You should be able to activate your HUD by thinking about it-

-Whoa, yeah I can. There is a little too much stuff though, and it's kind of distracting-

-You will get used to it or you can modify it by checking the users manual

-I have a user manual?-

-Yes, go to menu on your HUD and pull it down. It gives you all the information about your body, and upgrades. Come to my location when you get a chance please-

-Okay. Let me just turn off my HUD-

My avatar sees her blink several times before she starts walking to where I marked my location. I am standing in front of several open boxes that my Lusus had pulled out of storage for me. She arrives a few moments later with a determined look on her face. "What do you need?" she asks.

"I want to see if you can access the S.C.I.O.N.'s database and monitoring systems."

She scrunches her face in concentration before widening her eyes in surprise. "Yeah, I can see it. Wow, it shows a model of your brain too. You named the system Scion?"

"It's a bit of a private joke. We are going to get started now Sierra, and you will have to remain a block or two near me in the docks, and much closer when we are out of them."

"Did you find the guys who took Bryce?" she asked with her voice slightly quivering.

"I found their identities but they have no known address or point of contact." I said. Sierra's face fell. "But I have a plan for finding the pit fight, and Bryce will be there."

"Alright, lets get started. Where are we going?"

"We are going to go pick up another independent hero called Phoenix. But before that we are going to need to get you a disguise." I motioned at everything I had pulled out of storage. "These are old costume and mask prototypes of mine."

"Why do I need a costume? Shouldn't I just stay out of the way?"

"Your range is much shorter outside of the docks. You will have to be much closer, and while you will be in the truck, you will be close enough that I want your identity hidden in case someone spots you."

"Okay, let me see what you have." She walked around and started looking through my old costume stuff. After a while she chose a dark green hood and robe. She carefully tied her hair in a ball and put on the mask she picked out. It was made to look like red leaves in the shape of a butterfly. Afterward she put on the robe and pulled the hood over. "You don't have a mirror," she said looking around.

"I don't need one. Here, I am opening access to my eyes. You should be able to access my visual feed."

She turned suddenly and stared at my face. "This is so pretty, but kind of freaky."

"The mask is modeled after the leaves of the Asclepias Curassavica. It is also known as the Blood flower or the Mexican butterfly weed."

"Are you going to call me Bloodflower?"

"No, I am going to call you Sierra. But in front of people I do need something else to call you. Do you have a preference?"

"Not really, but Bloodflower seems a bit too villainous."

"Well it won't matter too much. Remember you only have to do this for a few months, and no one knows it is you. I will call you Bloodflower in front of Phoenix and introduce you as my assistant. We can always change your name once you think of something you prefer."

"Okay, you're the boss."

-Follow me please- I said as I started walking to the elevator.

-Ugh, I am never going to get used to this-

Sierra walked closely behind me as I gathered the Lusus for our raid. I brought a good force of spiders, a few mimics, and normal infiltrators already disguised as Teeth members. I didn't bring anything else, since the plan was to go in stealthily.

-How many Lusus can you control?- I could see Sierra standing closer to me as a crowd grew around us.

-Around two hundred or so when near my central server in the docks which ups the processing power of the Lusus and myself. No more than a dozen or a little more using my mobile network. Though the spiders have more automated functions so they can heal without needing constant direction-

I stopped in front of the red line and Sierra stopped next to me looking around. A moment later she seemed to gape as the kitchen descended from the hotel. -You weren't kidding about the millions thing were you?-

-No, I was not kidding. I am sending you the addresses of the Teeth hideouts and where we are going to pick up Phoenix. I want you to practice directing the drones while we drive. That will free up more of my attention when we got outside our territory-

-You have drones?-

-We have drones. I am giving you control now. I did my best to make them as automated and user friendly as possible. For your first task just start scanning the faces of everyone you see. I have recently completed a facial recognition software with a database of known ABB members-

We took the elevator back up with the Lusus crowded around us. The drones thankfully distracted Sierra, so she didn't notice the mimics right behind her. Unlike the infiltrators, the generation had been created to be as scary as possible.

The elevator stopped and the loading doors opened with the trucks backed up to them. I put the spiders and mimics in the first truck, the infiltrators in the second, and a new larger case of airborne parasites in the third. "Where do you want to ride Sierra?" I asked.

She didn't acknowledge that she heard me at all as she stared straight ahead. -Sierra, try not to get too distracted just yet-

She turned and looked lost for a bit before giving me a small bow. -I apologize. Being able to project the camera feeds from my eyes distracted me. What did you say?-

-Which truck would you like to ride in?-

She walked forward and looked into each one. -What is in that metal box?-

-An airborne parasite that is inhaled through the lungs and paralyzes people-

She turned to look one more time at the others before stepping inside the third one. -I will take this one- She moved inside and sat cross-legged behind the parasites it as the doors closed.

I had the spiders and mimics make a path for me as I sat down in a corner of the first truck. The doors closed and the small convoy departed for a quick patrol around the docks before we met Phoenix. -Did you find anyone on the drones?-

-A group of three is a few blocks over that you have listed as known ABB-

-Excellent. Please keep a close watch on my feed as I attack them-

The convoy moved close enough for me to control the Mimics, and I opened the door of the truck. The four of them moved out with a group of spiders coming right behind them. I moved the spiders into an adjacent alley the ABB members we going to go past.

The mimics moved as quickly as they could without dropping their disguise. They only slowed down when near other people. I split them up and had them take positions on opposite sides of the street.

The ABB members were wearing civilian clothes, and were bunched up close together. I assumed they were testing me since I had been absent after my recent attack on the Teeth.

-Sierra are they armed?-

-You can see their skeletons with these things! They are armed with big knifes or they might count as short swords. Sorry, I don't know what those are called-

The group walked methodically with no one getting to far from each other street by street. When they got onto the street with the spiders waiting in the alley, I had a mimic block their path and start laughing in Lung's voice. They froze and started looking everywhere. Once the spotted the mimic they turned and walked away.

-Is there any unusual activity Sierra?

-Nothing yet. What are you going to do to them- she asked as they suddenly broke into a run. They didn't get far as they noticed two more mimics on the other end of the street. They turned and pointed to the alley while whispering in Japanese. They built up their courage and made a break for it.

-The three ABB members are not armed. They came looking to scout me out not to fight. So I am going to still break their legs, but I will erase their memory of the attack-

The group ran down the alley but they didn't get far. The spiders sprang from behind trashcans and boxes to inject them before they hand a chance to get away. They dropped before they had a chance to scream. I ordered the spiders to start the operation while keeping a close watch on them.

After they were finished I let out a sigh of relief. -Everything look okay Sierra?-

-Everything is fine. I sent the drones to start taking pictures and video of the addresses you gave me. Is that okay?-

-That is fine. Let me pick up the spiders and we can be on our way-

-You're not going to pick up the bug things? Is that safe?-

-The Lusus are built to be safe even without my input. They won't attack anyone while they stand guard in case the Teeth show up again in the docks-

-You're the boss-

With that, the convoy sped up as we got out of the docks.


	12. Seed Lore

Goal is 7 to 10k words every week or two.

Authors Note: I got a lot of questions about the changes in the background in this universe. I answered quite a few questions in spacebattles and sufficient velocity but it can be a pain to search through the forum for it. There are a few big spoilers hidden under tags there, but here is some general stuff. Will periodically update as the story goes on.

Spoiler Warning: Nothing too major but hints of things to come.

Change in Universe: The Simurgh will occasionally not take in part in cycle and thus the world will get a longer break between Endbringers attacks. But she is completely unpredictable when not part of the cycle. Has showed up at a Behemoth fight, skipped participating for a year then attacked three times in a row, and attacked a city in Europe twice. She attacked Boston and is the main cause for the changes in this universe. Accord, The Chain Gang, and the Teeth moved to Brockton after the attack. Brockton Bay is a much bigger and more important city with Boston sealed.

Bloody Tuesday- Believed to be the main reason for the Simurgh attack in Boston. Butcher 16 also known as Vehemence had the ability to power up from violence and could power up past Butcher shards to unheard of levels. Could use the 9th's ability to induce murderous rage in people as a growing feedback loop of violence. At her height could affect entire city blocks. Declared an S class threat and nearly drove the city insane. Thousands of deaths, mostly the very young and old, and her power caused Alexandria/Legend to nearly kill Eidolon. Was somehow stopped by the vigilante Dissonant with rumored help from Accord and Coil.

Bloody Tuesday had a major impact on several characters. Accord and Coil cemented their alliance, the Marquis's gang was destroyed allowing New Wave to stop him, the Chain Gang was destroyed, and Lung ascended in the power vacuum.

Nilbog- Attacked Adams, New York which is a bigger town with a major highway going through it. Thus there were several other civilian survivors beside Coil and Piggot.

Accord&Coil- Have been in an alliance for years and their powers work very well together. Both realize they will try to kill each other at some point, and both are confident of their ability to do it. How their alliance works will be seen in a future interlude. Coil is having flashbacks similar to Piggot.

Before the end of the story, Coil and Faust will loathe each other.

S.T.A.R.S. teams or Special Tactics and Rescue Services a la Resident evil were originally founded for the specific purpose of trying to find a way to defeat the Endbringers. Members are hand picked for their individual capabilities and special skills. Teams are formed based on the Endbringer attacking and they are constantly trying new things against the Endbringers.

Needless to say they haven't had much luck. But they have found success limiting civilian casualties and structural damage. A specialized team to deal with fires spread by Behemoth for example.

The teams were split into a defense and assault subsections in response to several devastating attacks by the 9 after forcibly recruiting Heartbreaker. The 9 used his power to make thralls of a wide variety of men and women until they suddenly ordered them to all attack at once. In the aftermath, the public questioned why someone like Heartbreaker was not made a priority. He was hated with no allies, was a gigantic security risk, and his power was useless against the Endbringers.

If the Protectorate is a police organization, the S.T.A.R.S. team can sort of be seen as their SWAT team. At least in theory. The assault team/s job is to go after potentially dangerous opponents, and other S class threats similar to what Dragon and Armsmaster did in canon.

The assault side is fraught with politics and scandal. Cauldron does not particularly like them, but they are wanted too much by the public for them to get rid of completely. Many of the misfits of the PRT/Protectorate end up on the assault team instead of guarding the walls of cities quarantined by the Simurgh. Bastion would have ended up on the team if Piggot hadn't given him an offer, and Sophia will probably end up on the team if she doesn't go rogue after turning 18.

All teams routinely take HEAVY casualties, but it can help certain hero's careers since it looks good on a resume. The Defensive side is currently led by Dragon, while the assault side is currently lead by Narwhal after the last leader was killed on a mission.

The Butcher- I theorized that the Butcher's job in the cycle is to induce trigger events and keep things from being too peaceful. They/It are aggressive and impossible to stop. Killing it just makes the next one worse. Would eventually act as a sort of natural Endbringer after the line of Butcher became long enough. The Butcher's presence has upped the number of parahumans in the ABB, the Empire 88, and the rest of the city.

Faust- Name chosen by Taylor because she made a Faustian bargain with the Butcher shard. She took it to acknowledge the risk she took in her experiment and as a warning to watch her actions because you lose your soul at the of a Faustian bargain. She also chose it as a source of pride that she found a way to cheat the being/s behind Scion and greatly expand her own power far beyond what they intended for her.

* * *

Cloning Methods

Clone a cauldron cape?

Going by canon, nothing too much changed when Bonesaw cloned the cauldron shard members of the 9. So I was assuming no issues. Though it probably greatly depends on how the donor of the DNA for that clone connected with the shard. Case 53 and other bad connections will be different than other clones and she does plan to try it when she gets access to case 53 DNA.

3 Cloning Methods

Method 1-  
1\. Clone parahuman which creates a normal human with Corona Pollentia in the brain but no active power.  
2\. Create Butcher and have clone kill Butcher. Must have animal intelligence to decide to kill Butcher on its own otherwise Taylor gets Butcher seed.  
3\. Cloned Parahuman gains same power as donor parent, but is now a Butcher.  
4\. Wipes brain and installs implants to control it.  
5\. Butcher Shard makes it very hard to control for unknown reason. She can technically control it and activate its power to use weakly.

Pros:  
Can actually use its power.

Cons:  
IS A BUTCHER! So she can't use it in the field because something could kill it and we have a new Butcher running around.  
There are BIG ethical issues with cloning human beings with an animal intelligence in Method 1. She only did it out of desperation, and really doesn't want to do it again.  
There is a unknown side effect the Butcher shard has on other shards Taylor didn't pickup on because she wasn't using sentient parahumans.

Method 2-  
1\. Clone Butcher/Other cape hybrid  
2\. Install implants

Pros  
Can be made brain dead from start so less of a ethical nightmare. Never alive or any intelligence in the first place.

Cons  
Extremely difficult to control. Taylor has to put all of her attention/concentration just controlling it and brain does work right. Could take weeks to map out brain and figure out way to use power while controlling it. Best case has a clone that can barely move/walk with a active passive power that is on and the default of the power is to stay on. Othala and Kaiser too complicated and hard with this method.

Butcher hybrid's brain causes severe motor/mental damage to whoever kills it. So somewhat safer to use in the field since anyone who kills it won't be much of a Butcher with the constant seizures and muscle spasms if it doesn't straight up kill them. But the risk is too great.

Note- Killing a hybrid by someone that seems to already have the same power as the hybrid seemed to give a 2nd trigger. So could be used by Taylor to get new powers to potentially use in future if she can get method 3 to work. Could possibly use this method to use clones with powers in lab only after quite a bit of trail and error. Though wouldn't be very useful.

Method 3- What she is using right now.  
1\. Make clone of whoever. Kaiser and Othala.  
2\. That is it. Has no way to cause them to trigger even though the clones have potential to trigger. Bonesaw in canon needed the memory cape to trigger them artificially.  
IFFFFFFF she can figure out how to trigger them without using Butcher Method, she can use her own "software" to run the clone bodies hardware. Slow and she would have to carefully use trial and error to use power/move. But could, in theory, control one or two cloned parahumans at once. Maybe more if she can upgrade her Overmind tech to improve multi-tasking and cognitive abilities.

So she can't use clones safely right now. It's too dangerous to use Methods 1/2 and 3 is useless.

Technically there is Method 4-

Canon Blasto gave clones enough sentience to trigger and use powers badly. Taylor will never create a sentient clone, so this method hasn't even crossed her mind.

That said, she does have some ideas for trying to give clones a trigger events without Sentience or using the Butcher. She really, really, wants to be able to do your 2nd and 3rd question. If she had copied a portion of Hijacks power she could probably use method 3 easily.

* * *

Could Taylor get cloning going so soon?

I pictured Blasto as having a rather simple to use power similar to Glory Girl which sort of killed his creativity. Glory Girl never had to learn how to fight because as a Brute she curb stomps everyone, she never had to learn to be more socially conscious or adept because her aura made all social situations easy, having Panacea meant she never had to learn restraint because Panacea could fix everyone she hurt so she never learned. Now imagine Glory Girl without Panacea growing up in say Vegas with its huge amount of tinkers and thinker and far more subtle tactics. That Glory Girl would look nothing like canon, and would use her powers in far different ways. She'd make use of her aura as her primary power, trying to hide that she is a brute. Maybe acting as a separate person she can easily blame when she uses her Brute power. If she gets in trouble she has no one to heal her victims so she is far more prepared for how to take someone down without seriously injuring them.

Canon Blasto and Taylor are the same way. The Blasto shard is very straightforward. Build up tech to make seeds, get money to get ingredients, get samples, and procure a living base for his creations. Then go. The tech at the end of the tree makes the process easier/faster but for the most part it is the same.

Blasto had a HUGE advantage over Taylor in that he had no morals. To make money he simply said every drug dealer in his territory had to give him a cut of the profits or you get attacked. He could care less about killing a dog or a person and was completely fine with making sentient creations. He was a little concerned about making them so smart thye might not obey him, so he gave them limited intelligence. He cared about controlling his stuff better in that it gave more power, but again did not care if collateral damage happened. He didn't want to fight anyone, being more of a researcher than a warlord according to WOG. So I'm thinking he probably made semi sentient clones of everyone who fought him with just enough intelligence to use their power badly, adapted them to combat specific capes like accord, and programmed them to just attack like crazy if anyone trespassed civilian or not.

Taylor was completely different and threw the Blasto shard for a loop. Her moral compass gave her so many extra issues that canon Blasto didn't even think about. She couldn't bear to kill animals except for simple snakes so that meant she simply couldn't make anything bigger than a snake. She refused to make sentient creations, which meant she couldn't use parahuman clones. She was just a kid and thus couldn't go out and steal from drug dealers, which meant she always had few if any ingredients and hardly any tech. Most importantly she wanted to be a hero, and that meant she couldn't just use the same creations Blasto in canon did because they were too dangerous to control around civilians.

But necessity is the mother of invention and remember that Tinkers are all about inspiration. Since Taylor has been a Tinker for at least six months before canon, she did what anyone else would do, and what Glory Girl would do if she had been born in Vegas. She adapted and tried new things, and this gave her ideas/tech that canon Blasto would never have conceived of because they solved a problem he didn't have.

Because she had to work with small Lusus and limited resources Taylor worked with bugs. Making miniature versions of her tech and testing, and adapting on a much smaller scale. She could prune her seeds and experiment MUCH faster doing this than Blasto did since he worked with larger creations that took a lot longer and far more resources.

Because she refused to kill animals like dogs she got inspired by artificial meat experiments and created project G which means she does not require animals as a base AT ALL.

Because she was always strapped for cash and refused to steal she was forced to brainstorm and came up with the idea for cloning organs giving her so much money that resources were a thing of past. While canon Blasto had to spend 90% of his earnings on tech and had to spend time away from the lab earning said money, Taylor could now spend all the time she wanted in the lab and was able to afford whatever equipment/materials she needed.

Because Taylor reached dead ends and having nothing better to do she focused inward, working on gene therapies, improving her seeds because she wants to make programmable organic matter someday to make instant organs and help people.

Most importantly because Taylor wants to be a Hero she is completely invested in being a Warlord first and a researcher second. Shards are all about combat and we have the canon example of Leet's shard hating him because he played things safe.

So while Blasto had tech that is significantly better than what Taylor has in their tech tree, she had tech upgrades/ideas that gave what she had big advantages of canon Blasto.

I picture Blasto being a warlord within three months and hadn't been one for more than a year or two. Taylor got started far later but she is far more dangerous than canon Blasto ever was.

* * *

Would near-mindless clones get trigger events?

Most mindless clones would NOT get triggers. In Bonesaw's interlude she describes how she had to use trial and error with the memory tinker to get them to have triggers. But I have a reason that the Butcher shard comes out a parahuman and that is the reason her experiment can work at all.

The Butcher is VERY important to the cycle in my interpretation. The Butcher's job is to spread conflict and trigger events by being crazy aggressive, and being impossible to kill. Killing the Butcher just makes the next one worse and wherever it goes conflict follows which the shards love. A hundred years from now Butcher 192 is a sort of natural Endbringer spreading conflict on a worldwide scale for shards to take hold. The only reason her clones became parahumans was because they killed the Butcher.

The Butcher also has a hidden effect on other shards and potential triggers. Taylor didn't notice it because she was using non-sentient clones but will become aware of it the day she meets the Butcher face to face.

* * *

Character List

Ambassadors

Jacklight-same as canon. Capable of creating globes of light that grow as they fly, then stop in mid-air; the orbs have a space-warping effect, causing accelerating motions alongside other increases to certain kinds of energy.

Citrine- same as canon. Power allows her to attune areas to specific functions — increasing gravity, decreasing friction, changing the progression of time and, if someone powered is in the area, provided she has twenty or thirty seconds to get ready, interfering with their powers.

Othello- same as canon. Possesses a 'mirror self' that travels in another world that only has limited interactions with the first. He can drive himself into the mirror world, bringing his other self in from that world at the same time — producing an effect that could be mistaken for teleportation — and he can control the nature of the interactions between his 'mirror self' and the world to attack while remaining apparently invisible and intangible.

Ligeia- same as canon. Power has two modes — creating geysers of water out of empty space, and sucking water (and, possibly, whatever flows with it) back into wherever her water came from.

Codex- Same as canon. She is Accord's top lieutenant besides Citrine and his most infamous cape. Codex is a blaster/thinker hybrid that strikes anyone within its area of effect with permanent brain damage and memory loss in exchange for granting her a temporary boost to her mental power. Her area of effect can be seen in the glowing of her victims' eyes. According to Tattletale, Codex is good at administration, is a fantastic cook, and skilled when it comes to managing people. Was the reason Butcher 15 was stopped, and the reason Lung finally decided to procure a bodyguard.

Phalanx- Has a slow moving but very, very, strong force field that covers a wide space that can shoot out portions of it like spears a certain distance before they come back. Moves very slowly sort of like he is in heavy gravity when his force field is up. Will often keep his field down to rush forward and quickly put field back up to stop from being outmaneuvered.

Unnamed Teleporter- Can choose to create a stunning field when he teleports near people that messes with electronics and people's nervous systems. Great distance/speed of teleports but use of power tires him out very quickly leaving him weak to protracted fights and is only partially immune to own stunning field. Is unable to teleport anyone beside himself due to limited volume. Wields a sword like a fencer, and uses a beautiful pistol made by Accord with custom ammunition

BaroTrauma- Probably Accord's most sadistic cape. Very prim and proper, but likes to maim people with her power. Can make floating shapes that look like a very cloudy substance compressed. Can change the space/pressure of whatever it hits and her favorite shape to use are spikes. Has made someone's arms literally compress into the size of a soda can. Power can be used for controlled demolition and is precise enough with it to take out a puddle of blood without damaging the floor. As a side effect of her power she does not have to breathe. She is a canon cape from Blasto's interlude. She is the one that wore the black dress and pendant with spikes around it while complaining that one of canon Blasto's creations broke her leg.

Pace- power from Vials spreadsheet. Has enhanced durability and greatly enhanced physical speed, but no increase in reflexes or speed in mental perception to match. Can only move at normal speed through deliberate concentration.

Foundry- She can create grey shape shifting and featureless clones. Picture T-1000's but not nearly as tough and can't be put back together if too much mass is lost. Can be used to slowly heal others but takes large amount of mass and it is a very slow process that can take days.

Blueshift- creates a large field that looks and apparently tastes blue to those in it. Has a limited volume to the field but she can change the shape of it. Field is very hard to change once it is set up and she can't forcibly end it. She has to wait until it slowly fades usually over fifteen to twenty minutes. Everything inside field moves slower and she can change how slowly though it is harder/tiring to slow down organic objects. Can move freely and fly inside of field despite slow down. Usually uses a small pistol to wound or execute people caught in field.

Ashburn- Power from Vials list. Power includes a personal field with very short range pyrokinesis growing more intense after shielding a hit, superheated punches. Uncontrolled flares of heal with small, localized, explosions, manifested in subjects' surroundings, particularly as combat grows more heated.

Lagrange- Power from Vials list. Specializes in objects that redirect and generate artificial gravity rapidly. He is the only cape of Accord that has combat experience. Former wounded veteran who's OCD has gotten under more control since working for Accord. He is Accord's favorite employee and was carefully modeled by Coil to be picked by Accord and to act as a spy.

Hawthorne- only case 53 member, and power is from Vials list. His power is so useful Accord lets him stay as long as he never enters his presence. Gained the ability to visually and aurally perceive the surrounding of things touched within the past month. Doesn't work on living things. Used to spy on territory of rivals and gain data for Accord's plan.

Coil

3 minor thinkers as squad leaders from weak vials purchased by Accord for him.

Unnamed captain but nicknamed Creep- thinker ability that shows him the quickest path to obtaining a state goal. Limited in that it can only be used a few times a day before giving subject migraines. Power does not show subject the fallout of taking path, only presents one solution. Only person who knows Coil's real identity. Coil's driver from canon. Has reduced emotions as side effect of power.

Unnamed captain- Increased accuracy beyond the norm leading to maiming attacks. Sniper from canon who fought Oni Lee.

Captain Minor- Canon captain who worked for Tattletale. Every few minutes can look out the eyes of others in his range.

The Teeth

Butchers- Based off of Butcher's Bill OCs

1 – enhanced strength/toughness, ability to induce pain on a scale to cause cardiac arrest, or pleasure to a degree to make addicts out of people who are desperate to experience it again.

2 – Lancet, striker/thinker Ability to see cardiovascular systems through walls, can control the flow of blood through touch, minor regeneration.

3- ForeArmed- Hero Brute- vast strength compared to relatively minor toughness and a powerful danger sense against attacks

4-Rotmonger- Striker, Ability to inflict wounds that fester, and poison. Almost complete immunity to disease and sickness

5- Mongrel- Case 53 –regeneration, extremely tough bones, very loud scream, and enhanced agility.

6- Devil Child. Explosive Teleportation and super strength. Youngest Butcher at 14.

7- Tripwire- Minor Tinker with specialty on various types of wires.

8 – Flint- Ability to shape unreformed matter into objects

9-Ulfserker- Former 88 cape in Allfathers time. Superstrength/toughness, and ability to induce mindless rage in people.

10- Commando- Thinker/Tinker- advanced weapons with a focus on long range fighting/traps.

11- Leverage- Super strength and ability to decrease the mass of objects in his range.

12- Rhinohide- Feels no pain, Extremely Tough skin.

13- Red Ronin- Ability to enhance objects such as making a sword capable of cutting almost anything, enhanced reflexes.

14- Chaos Factor- Thinker, power unknown but believed to be precog of some kind

15- Carnal- Brute/Healer, healing ability improved more by bathing in blood.

16- Vehemence – Ability to power herself from violence in her vicinity which acts like a natural high. Can empower strength, speed, various thinking abilities, etc. Inspired from webcomic Grrrl power.

17- Dissonant-Hero and violent vigilante. Can twist local sounds into a discordant mess that induces vertigo and disorientation, the effects proportional to the amount of sound used.

18-Quarrel- Current Butcher. Ability to always hit target in her power's range.

Spree: Current leader of the Teeth in Brockton when the Butcher is absent. Spree has the ability to make rapid-fire duplicate generation. The clones he creates become increasingly stupid after they are created. After a few moments they lack the knowledge of how to fire a gun, and are barely able to walk. But he can calm them down and slow the process if he is near them.

Skinslip: Canon S9 member, who joined the Teeth instead. Skinslip has the ability to manipulate his own skin and regenerate. He can extend this ability by flaying people and stitching or stapling their skin to his own. Skinslips' regeneration connected the tissues and extended his power's breadth and reach, but it didn't prevent all rejection or decay, forcing him to replenish it from time to time.

Vex: Can make tiny force fields that are razor sharp in empty space. They aren't that strong alone, but gain a cumulative resistance.

Animos: Has the ability to transform into a four-legged beast that packs a power-nullification scream. Has a time limit as to how long he can remain in that form.

Hemorrhagia: Has limited hemokinesis and some personal biokinesis. She mainly uses these abilities to control her blood; hardening and shaping it into weapons she can use as well to congeal into broad scabs to protect and reduce the damage she takes.

Reaver: New recruit from Detroit. Brute with a 5 point system he can put into toughness or strength. Toughness 4 and strength 2 or Toughness2/Strength3 etc.

Rebar: Arguably the most dangerous member of the Teeth besides the Butcher. Can make blocky forcefields that hit people with a force of a powerful battering ram. Has killed three of Accord's ambassadors in the past. Life saved by Skidmark when he was given a cauldron formula he found. Never takes off his mask or talks. Kaiser's archenemy and the one he believes killed his wife.

Squealer: Tinker that specializes in vehicles. She goes for size, augmentations and additions when she builds her vehicles. Used to date Skidmark before the Butcher moved her to Detroit.

Fog- has the ability to partially or wholly become a living mist, with solidity varying depending on his wishes and the ability to erode living matter. Can deliver horrific internal damage should a subject inhale the mist that comprises his other form. Joined the Teeth after being captured by the Butcher.

Night: While unseen, Night transforms into a horrifying monster. Her second form has enhanced speed, strength, and durability. Changing between forms instantly heals her. Because her transformation only occurs when she is unseen, she uses an assortment of tools to blind her foes, including flash bang grenades and a cloak designed to cover her enemies. Joined the Teeth after being captured by the Butcher.

Mush: Shifter who can form an expanded body out of loose debris.

Skidmark: One of the very few surviving members of the previous generation of the Teeth and has lived through 4 Butchers. Joined under Carnal who fed off the blood of his subordinates and forbid them from taking drugs. Quiet, methodical, and patient.

New Heroes

Bastion – Powerful force field user. Fields can be layered onto people/objects that can move far away from him. But the more he layers others the weaker all his fields become.

Dissonant- Violent vigilante from a cloudy path. Worked with Coil/Accord to stop Butcher 16's rampage and became the seventeenth Butcher before being killed by Quarrel later.

Phoenix- Power came from WOG of other possible powers from Echidna vial. Minor Brute, changer rating. Can stretch/compact her body. Can create a sack that she is reborn naked into when she dies. She can only have one at a time and it usually takes her one to three days to make another one.

Epoch- Canon power, but different person. Capable of rewinding, pushing forward, or pausing time by ten seconds. He uses this power to move things to where they were ten seconds ago, move things to where they're slated to be ten seconds in the future, or pauses for up to ten seconds, releasing at a whim. Power automatically rewinds him in case of damage. Can't affect something he traveled for two seconds including himself. So is vulnerable for two seconds after rewinding himself.

New Independents

13th hour- Villain- can forcibly fall asleep, causing everyone in range to fall asleep with her though a large jolt can force people to stay awake. Had a very public trigger event and has recently stopped being an independent hero to be a villain. Did not like the director of her old city and came to Brockton seeking her fortune. Canon character. Partner to Felix.

Felix- Villain- Can program birds to move in certain paths and patterns while adding a variety of effects to them. Canon character

Glitter- Independent hero who can change light around to make realistic looking projections or project it into a powerful lazer. Main issue is that she is not that great of an artist. Is really a rogue but helps to stop any crime committed in front of her. OC from a cloudy path

The Trio- Older group rogues who had a rare group trigger event. Work as private investigators. Conspiracy theorists and modeled after the lone gunmen.

Multitool- Tinker taht can make machines that fulfill numerous functions but require a lot of maintenance. A gun that can switch from grenades, armor piercing, a machine gun, etc. A van that can drive, travel on water, or briefly float. One of the Trio.

Ringo- No cape name. Power unknown, but rumored to be a striker. One of the Trio

Melvin- Shaker that can turn off electricity and vehicles from a distance. Actual power unknown. One of the Trio.

Slake- Works as a courier. Long range teleporter and has a breaker field that looks like suspended rain that lets her sort of skate off solid matter

Damsel of Distress- Same as canon, but periodically comes to Brockton to try and claim territory. Worked as a safe breaker once with Grue but she tried to double cross him and take his share. Her power caused Grue's darkness to act weird, and he badly hurt her. Grue became well known for keeping his word when he still gave her a fair share of the loot.

Uber and Leet- Mercenaries with a semi-popular bounty hunter web show. Leet was badly tortured and hurt in the Teeth pit fights. Is more in tune with his shard and more competent in a fight. Have secretly paid villains to be beaten to look better and give a cut of the proceeds.

Parian- largely unchanged.

Glacier – Villain-Former 88 member who is loyal to their cause but was part of a coup against the Kaiser that failed. Blaster that uses Ice and Electricity.

Schattenritter- Villain- Former 88 member who is loyal to their cause but was part of coup against Kaiser that failed. Grab bag cape that can suck vitality from people, create humanoid low level brutes in his black armor, and a striker ability to heavily distort the sense that he uses in an emergency.

Soapstone- Rogue. Has ability to create messages on any 2nd surface that people are compelled to listen to. Following orders gives a pleasurable feeling. Used to work for 88 but didn't know it. Now trying to use powers to help people lose weight.

Escultor- Rogue. Can create fast moving, purple, amoeba like creations that can form limbs to cut or grab things. Also have a secondary mode that makes them bigger/slower and explode on command. Uses power as a landscaper and sculptor.

Queue- Thinker Rogue. Can grade people up to six pre chosen options by arbitrary criterion. Stuff like people in this room by most dangerousness, most likely to lie, etc.

Cold Storage - Villain, Breaker 4. Can change his own body so as to absorb all heat near him, at a set - but fairly high - rate. Not technically immune to fire or other extremely high temperatures due to the limits of heat absorption, but fairly resistant. Wears a suit of insulated refrigerator themed armor with a variety of useful objects the benefit from being extremely cold, internal spaces can sustain liquid nitrogen after a short period of power use. Generally works as a smash-and-grab criminal. 28 years old, has been a villain for 4 years. OC from a cloudy path

Mouthpiece - Villain, Blaster 3. Can constantly refract the sound of her own voice within her mouth, constantly adding to it and increasing it's volume, then release it in a directed attack. Short buildups, 10-15 seconds, can cause minor injuries. Buildups of over a minute can kill or deal significant damage. Buildups beyond that level cause damage to Mouthpiece herself, and an undirected release of energy as soon as she loses control. Generally works as a smash-and-grab criminal with Cold Storage, him making objects brittle with cold and her destroying them. Wears a white bodysuit with a stylized black sound pattern spreading out from her chest. 21 years old, has been a villain for 2 years. OC from cloudy path.

Stress-Test- Male villain, - Ability is Kinetic Proxy. He can redirect the kinetic energy inflicted on anything he is touching to an object or area he is focusing on. The area itself is small, but he can stretch it but the power loses effectiveness as he focuses on larger areas and more objects. The more area or objects he tries to focus on at once while redirecting energy causes the redirected kinetic force to split instead of hitting a target with a 1-to-1 ratio. From OC worm thread

Ember-Female who wears an ornate metal visor. Seen with both villains and Rogues. Powers unknown.

Martyr – Rogue. heavy-duty brute who can soak up the damage of anyone he had touched in the last hour. Works as a bodyguard for hire. From OC worm thread

Decon- male rogue - Striker - His card advertises his power as the ability to sanitize any object or surface by touch; he has a range limit of about ten feet from the point of contact, and it must be a single object or a continuous surface. Works in hospitals. Actual power is an instant death touch through a medium and can kill anything living, so far as he knows, though he hasn't tested it on humans

Joyride- Villain- Can swap two people's sensory data, so they have the senses and are in control of each other's bodies (and powers). No limit on maximum total swaps except range. Works on animals, too, but only animals with highly compatible sensory data - no swapping people with dogs, for example, but two dogs could be swapped with each other. He has a range of 400 meters. If either person leaves his range, the effect ends.

Flashdrive- Female, Blaster/Trump. Can fire hard, concussive beams of light from her hands, and is able to focus the size and intensity. Her beams can either feel like a light tap or knock someone off their feet, and she can fire small beams from her fingertips or large ones through her palms or fists. Trump power manifests in a form of solid light balls (think grenades in terms of form and function, with a small blast radius), and causes powers to backfire (range is decreased, different effects, physical/mental backlash from power use, etc.) Effects last for thirty minutes. Cannot control who is affected by the blast and what kind of backlash they experience. No backlash is entirely the same, even if used consecutively on the same cape. From OC thread

Hemlock- Rogue- touch degrades and destroys either organic or physical materials but not both at once. Brief contact is only painful (and may be entirely non-harmful if the subject is suitably insulated by non-organic material), prolonged contact is extremely dangerous, destroying limbs or causing tissue and organ damage that's lethal without immediate excisions, transplantation, or other drastic treatment. Cannot turn ability off. Transgender and partially transitioned from male to female. Works to clear out old and hard to move junk for a fee.

Wrinkle- Rogue Can compress or wrinkle space. Trying to figure out how power to make a profit. From OC worm thread.

Watson- Rogue- passively boosts intelligence and problem solving skill in short radius around him, not including himself.

Ambush- Not particularly sane homeless woman. Is a low level Brute who can cloak herself and anything twenty feet around her. Just wants to be left alone but has killed several people including cops who mess with homeless people. OC character

The Troupe- New villain group formed for protection and work mostly in robbery and thievery

Circus- Same as canon, but was part of the same pit fight as Uber and Leet. Forced to team up with other to survive and formed her own group instead of joining Grue.

Bombshell- from OC thread. Stranger. Is seen as the most attractive, fascinating person in a room while being able to shift people's attention toward and away from objects with certain limits.

Trainwreck- Same as canon, but stopped being a spy for Coil after the Butcher found out and he nearly died.

Goodyear-Tinker that Specializes in resilient flexible polymers and inflatable tech, and great at shock absorption. Long white Beard, and large gut make him look like Santa in a Gimp Suit. From Worm OC thread.

Impulse- Lone surviving member of the Chain Gang. Easily startled and nervous. Has the power to control people for brief periods when he touches them. From

The Travelers- same as canon though they came out of Boston.

Faultline- Runs a well known security company. Provides bodyguards/protection for the wealthy in response to well known tactic of the Teeth of kidnapping people for a ransom.

Mr. Grim- has two powers. Extremely powerful regeneration to the point he can regrow a head in a few seconds with no side effects. Issue is that regeneration only works that fast for a few seconds, and then is very slow. After injuries will typically look like a corpse for weeks until he fully heals. Also has the ability to fly. One of Accords ambassador candidates who was rejected for being a case 53. OC from discontinued fanfic that was found on worm's original website.

The Undersiders- Kept as spoilers until Coil Interlude. Backgrounds slightly different except for Bitch

Grue- Triggered protecting sister from several Teeth members and killed two of them. Had to be much meaner and clever to survive in a much nastier Brockton Bay by himself. Already has custody of Aisha thanks to Coil and planting evidence in his mother's apartment. Considered Brockton Bay's most successful and long lasting independent villain. Survived by teaming up with other independents in return for favors or in pursuit of a bigger score including independent heroes. Most famous for breaking up a Teeth pit fight for Accord in return for a costume and the right to operate in his territory. Considered to be a Shadow Stalker archenemy after he put her in the hospital when she shot him with a real arrow. His darkness has been shown to block Faust's signals she uses to control her Lusus.

Imp- Still her snarky self but a touch better adjusted due to living with her brother for some time. Is the only Undersider who has never murdered someone.

Pyrotechnical- Secret identity of Lisa. Had to give up Tattletale identity to hide from someone. Is still paying large amount of money to Pyrotechnical to use her equipment and identity. Can use her normal power to maintain and use Tinker equipment after reading extensive user manual from real Pyrotechnical who has a Tinker focus on pyrotechnics and advanced firearms.

Regent-

Bitch- Exactly the same as canon.

Golem- Killed several 88 members during debut before leaving home. Triggered during Bloody Tuesday. Briefly lived on streets before being recruited by Grue and Lisa.

The Fallen:

Browbeat- killed by Accord after acting rude in a meeting.

SPOILERS FOR AFTER CH. 3-5 Please read beforehand.

* * *

Dissonance- OC from A Cloudy Path fanfic. Has two powers.

One is he can detect ALL sound in his power's range which is about half a mile. He can't actually tell what people are saying, but he could tell volume/distance/direction.

Two he can twist/project any of that sound into a signal that induces vertigo/disorientation proportional to the volume. So a whisper might not do much, but a gunshot would send you to the ground vomiting. As a side effect he can exchange or project one sound to another. So if two people were talking, he could make one person's voice/speech come out of both as long as both kept talking and projecting sound. He can also use this power to sort of eavesdrop by say projecting a voice of someone he is spying on to a speaker in his helmet that puts out a steady tone/beat. Though there is so much sound in his range that he needs a visual to use it for spying. His power also has a sort of stamina and he can get a backlash of vertigo if the fight goes on long enough.

As a vigilante from cloudy path, we only knew he was a violent and gave off a bit of a punisher vibe. I imagined him as a guy who used his power to spy on criminals/tail them, and use loud guns to kill/disorient people. Though keep in mind his power is not full strength anymore since the Taylor collective's powers aren't full strength either except for the living hosts.

Forearmed- Danger Sense and a Brute status is canon for the 3rd Butcher. Based it off another fanfic called Butcher's Bill where Taylor becomes the Butcher will all their canon powers. I pictured his Brute status as huge strength compared to relatively little toughness but the danger sense is rather self explanatory. Even weakened, that power makes Taylor much more dangerous.

The Butcher (The original) status as of 3.5 The original 18 Butcher is on the character list, which I need to fix.

1 – enhanced strength/toughness, ability to induce pain on a scale to cause cardiac arrest, or pleasure to a degree to make addicts out of people who are desperate to experience it again.

4-Rotmonger- Striker, Ability to inflict wounds that fester, and poison. Almost complete immunity to disease and sickness

5- Mongrel- Case 53 –regeneration, extremely tough bones, very loud scream, and enhanced agility.

6- Devil Child. Explosive Teleportation and super strength. Youngest Butcher at 14.

8 – Flint- Ability to shape unreformed matter into objects

9-Ulfserker- Former 88 cape in Allfathers time. Superstrength/toughness, and ability to induce mindless rage in people.

10- Commando- Thinker/Tinker- advanced weapons with a focus on long range fighting/traps.

11- Leverage- Super strength and ability to decrease the mass of objects in his range.

12- Rhinohide- Feels no pain, Extremely Tough skin.

15- Carnal- Brute/Healer, healing ability improved more by bathing in blood.

16- Vehemence – Ability to power herself from violence in her vicinity which acts like a natural high. Can empower strength, speed, various thinking abilities, etc. Inspired from webcomic Grrrl power.

18-Quarrel- Current Butcher. Ability to always hit target in her power's range.  
 **  
Taylor Hebert Butcher Collective as of 3.5**

1- Blasto shard- "wet" tinker, often working with plants, fungi and animals to create weaponized hybrids, which she uses to wreak havoc upon her enemies, using pheromones to control. Taylor's original shard.

2- Butcher shard- cloned from dead Butcher and killed by cloned hybrid. Pain/pleasure control, memory copying/absorption, Minor Brute status.

3-Bonesaw- powerful biological Tinker, capable of creating bio-mechanical constructs with their own powers. As Bonesaw, she was primarily accompanied by biomechanical "spiders", about the size of a dog; the ability to modify living organisms, and a variable loadout of biochemical vials.

4- Overmind- Villain Tinker mentioned in Seattle. Hive mind tinker focusing on implanted henchman, and drones.

5- Forearmed- 3rd Butcher and former hero. Danger Sense and Brute status with a focus on strength over toughness.

6-Dissonance- 17th Butcher Hero vigilante with the power to twist sounds into a discordant mess that induces vertigo and disorientation proportional to volume.

Can in theory add at least one power though cloning a new Butcher Hybrid clone. Though that is a last resort.


	13. 3-2

3-2

We were almost at the spot to pick up Phoenix. Sierra had been mostly silent as she read up on the changes to her body while occasionally asking questions about how certain things worked. I was a little impressed at how proactive and focused she was on learning everything she could. She was already researching everything I had on the Teeth and committing it to her new photographic memory.

The rain was starting to come down a little harder as my convoy moved to the Teeth's territory. The AI in the trucks automatically started to slow us down to barely a crawl before I switched to manual control. Their sensors were not very good in the rain. I felt a little stupid that I had not checked the forecast.

Despite the rain, you could tell very easily we were entering Teeth territory. The Teeth seemed obsessed with drawing pictures of fanged mouths and badly worded graffiti everywhere they could. There were a huge number of tags on anything and everything. The messages all followed the same patterns of boasts of different Teeth and putdowns of their enemies.

I tried not to be amused by the caricatures of Lung, Kaiser, and Accord being insulted and destroyed. Though I couldn't help but laugh at Lung drawn to look like a purple cartoon dinosaur.

Pictures of me seemed to be recent additions. I was drawn with a long snake tail instead of legs and my spiders were shown being smashed under boots. My pictures seemed to be darker and less cartoony. But it wasn't the Teeth drawings that bothered me. The drawings done by a demented fan that seemed to have enjoyed what I had done to the Teeth were what bothered me.

I saw at least two large and grotesque murals showing men with Teeth markings being killed by my spiders or Lusus in graphic ways. They were in hard to reach places high up, which made it difficult for the Teeth to cover them. One disturbing picture showed me in Nilbog's costume and a leather crown adorned on my head.

I was more than a little uneasy at that, so I had the S.C.I.O.N. make a note to myself to figure out a way to easily remove the paint on walls. Once I had something perfected I could come in periodically and remove all the graffiti. I felt my mind wander as I tried to think of an animal could reliably digest paint off the walls. I'd have to give the ability to fly, and it would draw less attention if it was nocturnal. Maybe if I used…..

-Uh, Faust?- Sierra asked.

I mentally switched gears. -Yes?-

-Your mind just got a little weird for a second, and you just switched the trucks over to manual control. Don't they drive themselves?-

-Oh, sorry my mind wanders when I don't have several things to focus on. I was thinking up an animal to deal with Graffiti in the city. As for the trucks, their sensors don't do very well in heavy rain or fog-

I could see Sierra's viewpoints on the drones above us shift to focus on the walls and the road in front of us. -Wow some these are disgusting. I can see why you want to get rid of them. You picked the wrong city to be in if your vehicle shave that kind of weakness. Though I guess you can just drive them yourself-

-Admittedly, their sensors could use some work but it takes time to make decent sensors that are not giant and glaring obvious. I had never planned on using them to launch a raid against another group so soon. I failed to foresee the Elite forcing the Butcher to leave St. Louis early or Lung having the ABB so compartmentalized. It ruined my timetable-

-So now that I am working for you, what is the plan exactly? PHO has plenty of theories on you, but nothing with any evidence-

-My overall main objective is to get rid of every gang in Brockton. To do that, I first need to claim and protect a large territory. Having a territory will allow me to build up my forces and maneuver them strategically against anyone who enters. The docks were chosen because they are the most valuable real estate for the gangs and a major site for violent clashes between them. Once they are secured I can launch raids against other targets in the city at leisure-

-How are you going to beat Lung?-

\- I don't need to beat Lung. By going after the ordinary rank and file of the ABB, I limit his ability to project his power. Without followers he becomes largely irrelevant. Once I am firmly established and have my Lusus spread out, there will be nowhere for him to hide in the docks. He has to sleep sometime, and I am very good at poisons-

-What about the ABB other parahumans?-

-I am fairly certain I can bribe two of them to go away or retire once Lung is taken down. The rest will be Childs play once Lung is taken down with the noted exception of Bakuda. A tinker requires a lab and resources so I will track her down once I have better infiltrated the ABB's rank and file-

-Are you going to do the same thing to the Butcher as you intend to do with Lung?-

-The Teeth are a very unusual gang and the same tactics will not work with them. Not to mention I am fairly sure the Butcher is a Noctis case or a parahuman that does not sleep since one of the previous Butchers did not sleep either. I am going to focus on dealing with the Teeth first-

-Speaking of sleep, how much do I still need to sleep? Your manual only says that less sleep is required.-

-You can go three days without sleeping and experience no real side effect. I would try to go for at least two hours of sleep a day. Sleep isn't well researched yet, but I believe it does provide an important function for the human mind. Which is the main reason I haven't gotten ride of it completely myself-

-Sorry for asking all these questions-

-It's all right. Its nice to have someone to talk to-

-Haven't you been working with Phoenix for a while now? Don't you talk to her?-

-We have only met in person once. We teamed up briefly and she helped me get into contact with Epoch-

-You've really only met once?-

-Well we have talked a few times online, but for the most part yes. Why do you sound so surprised?-

-I just assumed it was a lot longer. I have been reading up on Phoenix while we were traveling and she has been really active on PHO recently. She has been in several threads defending you nonstop-

-Really? What has she been saying?-

-That the rest of the heroes don't get it, and that you are the only one really trying to change things. I got the impression that she had worked with you for a decent amount of time going by her postings-

-Well I am thankful that I haven't scared either her or Epoch off of an alliance. I'm not sure why she is such a strong supporter of me. I will see if I get a chance to ask her. Speaking of Phoenix, I want you to be on guard when I am next to her or any other parahuman-

-Understood. Is it the side effect you were talking about? What exactly am I watching for?-

-Unusual brain activity from a past incident is in your files to compare to, but a side effect of my power is that I seem to occasionally get traumatic memories from parahumans-

-That's kind of a shitty power- -WAIT, I'm sorry- Sierra said in a rush. -I didn't mean to be so blunt. I'm not used to this mind talk thing-

-It's all right for you to speak your mind Sierra. It's part of your job to second-guess me. Besides I actually happen to agree completely that it is a shitty power. I have a few theories on why it is happening but not much evidence. Just inform me if anything weird happens when I am next to Phoenix-

-Okay, will do. What are the rules you said you wanted me to make sure weren't crossed?-

-My first rule is I do not kill or risk killing someone. If I intend to be particularly physical with someone, I will warn you beforehand but it should be obvious if I go too far. Next is that I never endanger civilians. Their safety is a priority. Three is I should avoid unnecessary risks. If I do something that you think seems wrong, give me a verbal warning or ask me-

As we neared the meeting point, I slowed the convoy down and separated the trucks so they wouldn't look so suspicious bunched up. We had agreed to meet Phoenix in an alley behind a coin Laundromat. It thankfully was no longer raining as hard, but it was still lightly drizzling. I made a note to the S.C.I.O.N. to install a way for the drones to better track the weather for me.

-She is on the roof looking down at us- Sierra said.

I switched views to the drone's camera and Sierra zoomed in for me to focus on Phoenix. She was actually wearing a simple costume instead of the street clothes I had seen her in before. She wore a dark one piece that looked like a school swim suit that left her arms and legs free. A red bandanna with eyes cut out was tied around her face as a cheap mask instead of stretching her face to hide her identity. She wore a small satchel that was tied on her back and had two very large knifes strapped to her wrists. As we watched her hair changed from black to red and then to a dirty blonde.

I opened up the back door of my truck and sent out a spider into the rain. It jumped up and down and I had it wave up at Phoenix. Seeing it, she leaned over the edge and her arms and legs stretched out to a ridiculous length. With her legs hooked onto the roof, she pushed her arms down and started to crawl down the building headfirst. Her arms must have been very strong to support her weight so easily and she only needed to grip the corners of the building to steady herself.

-That is really freaking looking. I didn't know she could stretch like that- Sierra said.

-It's fascinating. I wonder if she would let me take a DNA sample?-

Phoenix climbed down in seconds and swung her legs down on the ground as they shrank. She briefly looked around before running into the back of the truck. I had the spider climb up behind her before the door closed.

"It's nice to see you again," I said as I offered my hand.

"Likewise," she said as she shook it. Her voice changed a bit to be a little lower as she talked.

"This is for you," I said as I offered her a miniature speaker. Phoenix looked at it carefully before putting it into her ear. "With this we can all communicate."

"We?"

-Yes, there are three of us- I said as Phoenix head moved around in surprise.

"So you can talk without making a sound?" Phoenix asked.

"Yes, though the communication is only one way without a mechanical component installed. I would like to introduce you to Bloodflower, my assistant."

-Hello Phoenix- Sierra said with just a touch of nervousness.

"Hello yourself. Bloodflower?"

-Actually Faust chose that name for me, but I am thinking about changing it since it seems a little villainous-

"Feel free to change it but if everything goes according to plan, no one will know she exists in the first place. She is strictly a non combatant, and she will provide ops for our activities tonight."

"Sounds good to me." Phoenix reached into her small satchel and brought out a spray bottle that she sprayed all over herself. "I came prepared and brought something made up of Lilacs."

I frowned under my mask. "Oh, I'm sorry that was a placebo." I said.

Phoenix slumped a bit as she looked up at me. "Really?"

"So many people were scared of the Lusus that I wanted to give some people peace of mind. The Lusus are already programmed to be safe even without my direct control."

-I bought a bottle for a hundred bucks- Sierra said.

"My little bottle was cheaper, but it was hard to get," Phoenix sighed.

"Why so expensive?" I asked tilting my head to the side.

"Because the Teeth, the Empire, and the ABB have been buying everything they can that has it. There is a perfume and oil shortage because a lot of people don't know what Lilacs even smell like so they buy what they can."

I start to imagine the Teeth wearing really expensive perfume and a small giggle escapes my throat that I fail to stifle.

"That isn't funny" Phoenix said as her voice sounded a little amused.

"I'm sorry. It's just that I'm imagining Lung and the Butcher forcing everyone to put on perfume." I start to giggle a little more. "They have no common scents." I said making a bad pun.

"You're out of odor," Phoenix said chuckling.

"You don't spray."

We turned to look at each and just started laughing.

-You guys are weird-

Phoenix chuckled a little bit more before stopping. "So what is the plan?"

"Bloodflower if you would pull up the photos" I said reaching for a small pen projector in my coat. I held it up and Sierra started showing pictures and video stills of the three targets.

"Okay, the plan is to tag and track the Teeth to the next Pit fight. Once we know where it is, we tell the authorities and I bring a weapon to weaken a large number of them beforehand. Hopefully I can convince a few more people to join us for the attack at the gathering tomorrow."

"Don't get your hopes up" Phoenix said. "Independents stick together to better protect themselves, but attacking the Teeth head on is a whole other story."

-Surely someone will help us. All the independents outnumber the Teeth in the city-

"True, but the Butcher is a force of her own at this point. Not to mention that attacking the Teeth head on seems to make the Butcher interested in you." Phoenix said looking at me. "Not too many people that want to risk getting her attention."

"We will cross that bridge when we come to it." I said turning and gesturing to the wall of the truck. "These are our targets. A drug house nearby filled with Teeth making mush of their brains, a hideout where some of their supplies are stored, and a reasonably sized drug lab. We go in quiet and stealthy, and tag everything we can with different type of trackers. Then we leave with no one the wiser."

"No offense, but your spiders aren't exactly the stealthy type" Phoenix said sweeping her hand. "All it takes is a phone call and the Butcher herself will show up looking for blood."

-We can block phone calls and Faust can erase memories- Sierra said. -As long as no one gets away, we should be able to keep our activities secret-

"Fucking Tinkers." Phoenix said with a laugh as she leaned back against the side of the truck. "I'm not even surprised anymore."

"Does everyone really know I am a Tinker?" I asked.

"Well there are a lot of rumors about you, but most everyone agrees that you are Female, a Tinker, and a sadist."

-On PHO they are arguing about whether you are a case 53, are secretly in control of the ABB with your infiltrators having taken over, or are sharing random pictures of animals in the city that people swear are your handy work-

"So where to first?" Phoenix inquired.

"The hideout where they are storing their supplies. The supplies and the people there are the most likely to end up at the pit fight. Then we go after the drug lab, and finally the drug house."

-Bloodflower take manual control of the trucks please while I start working on the infiltrators- I turned to Phoenix. "I'm going to use the spiders to make the infiltrators look like the Teeth who are inside."

The spiders I had in the truck with the infiltrators sprang to life and I had the Lusus lay down on the ground. Sierra took over driving while I got to work on a little plastic surgery with the photos of the Teeth taken by Sierra for comparison."

Sierra drove a little too quickly despite the rain and the darkness for my taste. But she was worried about her brother so I didn't say anything. Though it did make operating in the other truck a little more challenging.

"So I take it you've been pretty busy" Phoenix asked standing across from me and gesturing to the mechanical arms on my back.

"You could say that. There were certain things I needed help with, and Bloodflower agreed to work with me. I have been preparing to try and stop the upcoming pit fight. "

"I'm glad you asked me for help. That money you sent me came in real handy."

"No problem, I would also like to thank you for agreeing to still work with me after my, ah incident with the Teeth."

Phoenix laughed. " An incident you say. You didn't kill anyone and they're the Teeth so I could care less what you do to them. Besides do you have any idea how scared the Teeth are of you? They have been killing birds, strays, and mice in case they are under your control. Though killing strays seems to have backfired a little since they've really pissed off a new parahuman named Hellhound something fierce."

"Hellhound?"

"Oh, she goes by Bitch but the PRT and the PHO call her Hellhound to be politicaly correct. I've never met her but I've seen her handiwork. She used the Teeth as a chew toy for her dogs and seems to have taught them specifically how to hurt people. She seems to take it personally when dogs get hurt."

"I am already aware of her. I recently found out that she has recently agreed to work for Grue."

"Well that fucking figures. Grue has been putting out a lot of feelers to see if anyone is interested in joining his new team."

"Know of anyone else who joined?" I asked.

"Several new guys from out of the city, but I know he convinced Golem to work with him."

"Golem?"

"He's a relatively new parahuman, though he is supposed to be a heavy hitter. The only thing I know about him is he killed a few of the Empire's goons and one of their parahumans when he first showed up. I'm guessing he joined Grue for some extra protection since the Empire wants him dead."

"Not surprising considering his name," I said.

"His name?" Phoenix asked

-A Golem is a monster from Jewish folklore that is made out of earth and for a specific purpose. Considering his actions, most likely Golem chose the name to identify as an enemy to the Empire-

"I thought he was referencing the little grey guy from the movies," Phoenix said. "But that makes more sense. Do you know who else is going tomorrow?" Phoenix asked changing the subject.

"Epoch did say that Grue and New Wave will be making some kind of appearance."

"If there is one good thing to say about that asshole, it's that he seems to know a lot", Phoenix said with a little disgust.

-Why is New Wave going?- Sierra asked. -Don't they work with the PRT?-

-They do, but they have been forced to participate in a pit fight before. Considering everyone knows their real identities, and what happened to Fleur, it makes sense for them to at least be open to working with others in an emergency- I replied.

The rain started to come down a little harder and I focused on making sure the infiltrators would be done in time. I finished just as Sierra announced we had arrived.

The trucks slowed down and parked by an alley near our first target. I projected the view of the hideout for Phoenix and looked over the video of the small recon drones Sierra had used to peek inside. The inside was divided into several large rooms with most of it being used to as storage. An armed guard was situated outside the door.

"Looks like 30 or so of them," Phoenix said looking at the pictures. "But no parahumans as far as I can tell. How do you want to go in?"

"I have a paralytic cloud of parasites that will spread through out the entire building quickly but I only have the one shot. The infiltrators are armed with masks attached to gas canisters that are held over people's faces to knock them out. Most of the Teeth are spread out drinking and not paying attention. If we take out small groups at a time; we can deal with them without the alarm being raised. Worse comes to worse, I want you set off the cloud Bloodflower."

-Will do-

The dozen infiltrators disguised as Teeth moved out from the second truck. These particular models had been made to see how tough I could make their bones. They were much heavier than normal, but they wouldn't go down easy.

They moved as a unit and I had them walk confidently and relaxed. I gave the impression that they were a little inebriated as they headed into the alley.

"I can deal with the guard," Phoenix said confidently as she opened the door and stepped into the rain. She ran to the next building over before she started to climb up it. Sierra showed her moving quickly over the roof stretching to the roof of the hideout.

She took her time climbing down at an angle like a spider. It was a little weird to see her arms and legs stretched so far while she slowly crawled above the guard.

The guard looked a little more professional than most Teeth. He was a heavily muscled guy wearing a coat and holding an umbrella over his head, which blocked out the view of Phoenix moving above him. The guard turned and pulled out a pistol as my infiltrators approached. They walked forward without fear and he seemed unsure of who they were.

Before he had a chance to say anything, Phoenix's arms suddenly shot down. One arm grabbed the gun and the other grabbed the man's leg. He cried out as he fell down on his face with the gun being lifted above him. He turned to shout a warning before gaping at Phoenix perched like a spider. Her arm covered his mouth and held him down as he struggled. One of the infiltrators ran forward to put a mask over his mouth as he slipped into unconsciousness.

Phoenix gave the infiltrators a mock salute. "I will get inside and open the door for you. I can easily squeeze through vents."

With that she climbed back up and Sierra switched the camera view again to watch her. Her legs shrank drastically before she suddenly jumped ten feet up the building and grabbed the ledge with her outstretched arms. She looked around then opened a small air condition vent and mushed herself inside.

-She seems nice, but her power is really gross. Though I am jealous of her ability to changer her hair color and climb so easily. She at least seems to know what she is doing- Sierra said.

-Well she has been a hero for almost half a year. She has probably done this sort of thing before- I said as I got out into the rain. I looked up and felt my mask twitch as the water hit it. I had the infiltrators stand guard near the door, while the spiders walked with me.

We just got near the door when it suddenly opened and one of the Teeth was thrown out. Phoenix swept her arm to welcome me inside. The infiltrators walked past her and over another unconscious guard. I motioned for Phoenix to wait beside me as the infiltrators did their job.

I took direct control of them and moved them into the first large room with the gas canisters held behind them. Inside about half a dozen regular members were measuring and bagging various substances.

I had two of the infiltrators walk up behind each one of them and attack together. One would put their arm around their throat and start to hold and choke them while the other put the mask over their face and held an arm down. It didn't take long for them to cease struggling and I left them where they were.

We repeated the procedure with other isolated groups of Teeth and it didn't take long to deal with all of them. No one questioned the infiltrators and they moved as one to ambush others.

Once it was done, I had them gather the unconscious Tee and laid them out on the floor while standing in the center of them. With a thought, the spiders started the surgery.

Phoenix looked down a little shocked as the spiders drilled and opened up the skulls of one of the Teeth. "What are you doing to them?" she asked.

-She is going to keep their short-term memory from going into long-term storage so they won't remember we were ever here- Sierra helpfully added.

"When you said you were going to erase their memories, I wasn't picturing that" Phoenix said starting to look a little queasy.

"It is completely safe I assure you. I am also trying a few different methods to see if I can artificially break their dependency on the drugs they are using and installing a few tracking devices under their skin."

-Why are trying to break their dependency? The Teeth don't let anyone ever quit the gang even if they do get clean- Sierra said.

"That isn't true for everyone" Phoenix said turning around so she didn't have to look. "I know someone who managed to get clean and leave the gang. Though it wasn't easy for her."

"I intend to eventually open up a free clinic once I have secured the docks. The gangs make most of their money from the drug trade and offering a quick and easy method to break a chemical dependency will help to disrupt their customer base."

I opened up my lab coat and pulled out two of my own small spray bottles. "You don't have to stay here if you are not comfortable Phoenix. Do you mind going to the drug stashes and liberally spraying them with both of these?"

Phoenix looked thankful for an excuse to leave and took them from me. "Sure, but what are these?"

"One of them is a special toxin that is non fatal but will make whoever ingests it violently sick. The other is a special pheromone that a certain bug of mine can track over a reasonably long distance. I am going to release them here and they should follow the drugs to the pit fight. There isn't enough here to sell for long, and I think this is all for their celebrations.

She turned quickly and left to look in the different rooms. I watched Phoenix move away before contacting Sierra privately. -Sierra I wanted to run a quick idea by you-

-Shoot-

-I am thinking about making a potent drug that gives you a reasonable high with no side effects or addiction. If I make enough and give it out for free I think I can disrupt the drug trade in the city. Especially if I can perfect a way to quickly break a chemical dependency through my surgery. Is that idea a little too out there?-

-It is a good plan from a business perspective. Something that is great quality, dirt cheap, and easy to get is hard to compete with in a market. Though it depends just how much of this drug you can make-

-You don't think it is too unethical?-

-I did just graduate from college and I do live in Brockton Bay. As long you pay your taxes and don't hurt anyone, I could care less what you do in your own home. That said not everyone is going to act responsibly high and they can still hurt people around them. Changing the drug isn't really going to help that. But if really do offer that surgery at the same time, I think you can help a lot of people in this city. God knows nothing else has worked so far-

After I finished, I had the infiltrators start setting up the Teeth so it seemed they had fallen asleep. Phoenix drew a little moustache over the lips of one of the guards before we left making me laugh. Sierra backed the trucks up and we all got in the same one.

"Nice to meet you Bloodflower or person soon to be formerly known as Bloodflower" Phoenix said shaking Sierra's hand.

"Likewise" Sierra said.

"That is a really great mask".

"I could make one for you if you like?" I offered.

"That's alright. I go through costumes pretty quickly due to my power so I want something cheap and easy to make. Besides having a cheap costume has caused more than one asshole to underestimate me."

We drove on to the next target in high spirits. I was a little surprised at how easy going Phoenix was. I had pictured her as a serious and intense person. But she seemed so relaxed and weirdly happy. I felt some of my tenseness go away with her joking. It reminded me of what it used to be like having Emma as a friend.

"So what is your power?" Phoenix inquired looking at Sierra.

"Oh, I don't have one." Sierra said shrugging her shoulders. "Completely normal human being"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just sort of assumed from the mask that you were a parahuman."

"I'm not sure if I would say completely normal," I quipped.

"Well Faust gave me a few upgrades when I agreed to work with her," Sierra admitted.

"What type of upgrades?"

"Stuff that makes me react, think, remember, and process better. I also don't need as much sleep or food as before, and I am significantly tougher than I use to be."

"I gave her the works," I said boasting a little. "I think by PRT standards she does count as Thinker and Brute 1 or maybe a 2."

"That is really cool. Do you think you could give me a few upgrades?" Phoenix asked.

"Sure, but would they work with your power?"

"Most of the physical stuff would disappear, but my power makes me progressively weaker the longer I don't use it. The longest I have gone without dying is around two weeks unless I eat a huge amount of calories. I just start to decay really quickly. I wouldn't mind some help slowing the process down."

"Sure, I will see what I can do. I don't have much equipment on hand, so how about we meet after the meeting tomorrow. I can examine you and see what I can do."

Phoenix gave me thumbs up. "Sounds perfect."

Sierra alerted us that we were nearing the drug lab. It was a large warehouse on the border of the docks and looked like it was deserted. Aristotle had said that the lab was located in the basement of the building and was a major manufacturing center for the Teeth. But there weren't any guards that I could see.

"Bloodflower, did you find anyone here."

-The place looked abandoned, but there were a bunch of trucks coming and going before we got here that had Teeth members in them. The doors are old, but the locks are brand new-

The infiltrators took the lead again with Phoenix walking next to the spiders and me. The lock was easy to pick and I sent the infiltrators to scout quietly inside. It was similar to my first lab, but it was surprisingly spacious inside since it had no real equipment.

I spotted a metal door on the far side of the wall. There were two guards in front of the basement door looking bored.

-I think we have found it. Though there is a lot of open space between here and there. Bloodflower, send in one of my armed drones-

-Roger-

A moment later, one of my latest drones moved low to the ground. The rain and the wind shouldn't affect it too badly. It was designed with three rotors and armed with several dart launchers. Sierra moved it through the open door and up to the roof. She lowered it right above them and fired at both of the guards.

They jerked in surprise before yelling and falling down. The infiltrators picked them up and I used the spiders to start working on them as I looked down at the big door.

-It looks like we missed most of them- I said -I have it on good authority that is a major site for the Teeth-

-This doesn't feel right. Where is everybody?- Sierra asked as the drone moved back outside.

"Maybe they are all downstairs?" Phoenix whispered.

I made short work of the lock and sent the infiltrators down the steps. It opened up into a huge basement the size of a football field. There was professional looking laboratory equipment and chemicals stored everywhere. It was really clean considering the Teeth owned it.

Despite its size, only six people in their underwear were working. They had on facemasks and were working diligently with their backs to the stairs. One of them turned and nodded his head at the infiltrators, who I had nod back. They never looked twice at my Lusus and soon they were all unconscious.

I walked down the steps with the spiders and Phoenix had her knifes out as she stepped warily. -The basement is huge and there is enough equipment for a much larger operation, but hardly any workers- I said as the spiders moved toward the downed workers.

I had the rest of the spiders start to scan the room and soon picked up something. I walked to a support pillar where a poster of a naked woman was hung. I carefully pulled out the nail and saw that it was a small video camera. -Shit, it's a trap. Everyone out right now-

-A bunch of heroes and PRT trucks are coming in fast!- Sierra said.

"What! Did they set a trap for us?" Phoenix asked as we ran up the steps. "How did they know we were here?"

-Exact numbers and heroes please-

-30 PRT personal armed with guns, foam sprayers, and some type of net launcher. From the costume shapes I would guess Assault, Battery, Bastion, Adamant, and Triumph. Shadow Stalker is bringing up the rear on the rooftops. They will be here in minutes- Sierra said in a panic.

-All right, move the trucks to another location while you still can and send a marker for us to meet you. Phoenix you can kill yourself and I will see you at the meeting tomorrow at Somers's rock-

"No I don't leave people behind when I can still help. I will set up a distraction so you can get away. At the very least I can buy you some time."

"No need, I will be fine," I said as I had the infiltrators tear apart a second one to show that it wasn't human and had the rest play dead on the ground in front of the door. "You could get in trouble if they find out you were working with me, and they are not in any way prepared for me. Which suggests they either don't know I am here or they are severely underestimating me."

"They already know I have worked with you. Besides it can't hurt to have some help."

"You make a valid point. But if you insist on staying, I need to inject you with this" I said pulling out my injector. "Don't worry there are no needles involved."

She looked at it with some trepidation, before nodding her head. I injected her just as the PRT made their assault. I led Phoenix down the stairs and waited. Sierra showed me the view of Triumph and Assault taking out a wall with the PRT streaming in right behind them.

-Sierra do you think you can find their radio frequencies for me?-

She didn't respond but a moment later I heard Battery curse. "We have a few Teeth down. No pulse on several of them. Faust is here," she said. "Everyone be on guard."

I moved the spiders to take position around us and waited patiently for the heroes to move down the stairs. A moment later I heard the door being kicked open and started going up.

I could see Adamant eyes show surprise in his armor before he simply dropped and tumbled down the stairs. Triumph and Assault shouted in alarm at the top of the stairs before they too fell down.

"What the hell…" one of the PRT strike team members never finished their sentence as I neared the top of the stairs walking at a calm pace. Most of the PRT forces were arrayed near the stairs and they started to fall.

"Everyone fall back" Battery shouted. "Bastion get some shields on everyone." At that moment I had the Lusus pop up and start grappling with everyone nearby. I heard shouting and saw what was left of the strike team suddenly covered in a blue light.

Bastion's shield did not stop airflow so it made no difference, though Battery disappeared in a flash on the other side of the warehouse before I could get near.

I triggered my implants and dashed forward before anyone else could move. Bastion cursed and tried to run but he suddenly fell to the ground along with everyone else. I moved the infiltrators to either side of and Phoenix walked up me astonished as she looked over everyone on the ground.

"What the hell did you do?" Battery shouted.

"I used a custom built pathogen that my body is constantly producing at the moment." I said. "It is fast acting, airborne, and paralyzes the body while the subject remains conscious. Don't worry it will wear off in an hour with no side effects."

"I'm unsure if you knew I was coming or not, but please be sure to know that I had no intention of interacting with you. There was some kind of electronic bug, so I assume someone got you to come here after most of the Teeth had cleared out. I apologize for the inconvenience, but I will give you guys a call when I have found the pit fight."

"You're not going anywhere," Battery shouted as she stood still. I popped my neck and briefly debated what to use.

Before either of us had a chance to move, Battery was struck with a dart in her arm. I looked up at the drone and waved as Battery fell. -Thank you Bloodflower. Are there any other heroes?-

-No, but the cops are on their way so I suggest you guys leave immediately-

I nodded to Phoenix and we started to jog at a decent pace with the spiders and Lusus moving as fast as they could behind us. A spider did a scan of Battery as it passed and I stopped and turned around to go back to her. "By the way, congratulations on your pregnancy," I said looking down.

I gathered all of my forces around me and we ran to catch up to Phoenix who was waiting nearby. We made good time and I was thankful the rain was helping to hide us as we moved through the alleys.

-SHIT- Sierra suddenly shouted.

Phoenix and I froze as we looked around. -Bloodflower what happened? Are you okay? Please Respond-

I shared a look with Phoenix and we doubled timed it down the alley and turned the corner to see one of the trucks doors was open with the parasite cloud blocking most of the view.

I was cautious as I moved forward with Phoenix right behind me. -Bloodflower please respond-

-Sierra, are you there?- I private messaged.

-Yeah, I'm fine. Well not really but I'm not dead- Sierra said as she walked out of the cloud. She looked a little disheveled and had a large black arrow sticking out of her chest with Shadow Stalker slung over her shoulder.

-She shot me with a fucking arrow right through the wall! It doesn't hurt, but it scared the crap out of me. I activated the parasite cloud when she came through the wall. I figured you had probably made me immune to it-

Shadow Stalker was wearing a dark cloak, custom armor, and had a mask depicting a scowling women's face. She was little more than a ragdoll at the moment. "Don't worry, you won't remember a thing" Sierra said in her real voice as she dropped her down.

"No, not on heroes." I said to her and she stood up while picking at the arrow. " Don't pick at it, I will fix it as soon as we get out of here."

Phoenix was staring down at Shadowstalker completely frozen and with an intense look on her face. I pulled up a sleeve and injected her with a solution to help accelerate the breakdown of the parasites noting that she had a black and well-muscled arm.

"It should wear off in about ten minutes," I said to her as I stood up and walked back to the truck. Phoenix followed soon after.

-Where to now?- Sierra asked as I started working on her arrow.

-Back to the lab. I have to prepare the insects to track the drugs we marked. I also have to finish the Lusus I made to counter Grue. How are you doing Phoenix? -

She shrugged her shoulder. "Pretty well all things considering. That was crazy, I didn't know you could do that. You just took them all out like nothing."

I closed up Sierra who slumped down next to me. "Do you want me to sleep at the lab?" she asked looking up.

"No," I said shaking my head. "I have your first payment as a check ready for you to go. If you don't feel safe at home, you can stay in a hotel. One of my cars will be waiting to pick you up as soon as you call a number I give you. The meeting isn't until 11 at night anyway. I will drop you and Phoenix off wherever you want."

"Is that okay with you Phoenix? I have another payment as thanks for you as well."

"That works for me," she said

Sierra looked up at Phoenix and I. "Are things always so intense?"

"Actually they usually aren't. Next time I will be better prepared, and the Lusus will be doing the fighting."

I closed my eyes for a second wondering about that hidden camera. Someone was watching the Teeth and caused the heroes to show up there. The question was who?

Authors Note: I'm not too satisfied with this chapter, but I was trying to stick with my self-imposed deadline. Things will pick up for the rest of the arc and the Undersiders will finally show up in the next chapter.


	14. 3-3

3-3

The day after my excursion with Phoenix found me back at the lab putting the finishing touches on the anti-Grue prototype. I hadn't been able to escape to the lab until later in the afternoon after Dad came home. Hannah had invited us for breakfast but I had politely declined to go, saying that I was working on a school project. I wanted to avoid Hannah until after the meeting with the other independents in the city. As long as I avoided getting any visions, then it would be safe to be near her.

The fact that she was Miss Militia was a little more worrying after I studied up on her. According to her official bio, Hannah had a low thinker rating. I'd have to be on my guard to make sure she didn't pick up anything unusual. I cleared my head and the S.C.I.O.N. brought up the full readout of my latest Lusus.

It had the shape of a large bald man, with almost obsidian black skin, and no eyes that were hidden by large glasses. I had built it to be as tough as possible, able to easily deal with even large caliber rounds. It had taken quite a few resources and time but most of its body was built out of the same material as the teeth of limpets, considered the strongest material found in nature.

It was capable of generating sound waves from extra vocal cords around its body, and its brain was capable of interpreting the waves like a bat using echolocation. It was capable of much more independent action thanks to the advanced implants in its head, though it could be controlled through a nerve cluster I could connect to like a puppet. It wasn't ready yet, but any future models would have them. As a finishing touch, I tattooed a large serial number with the designation T-001 on its body.

It had the shape of Grue's mask memorized and would prioritize incapacitating him. Should Grue be smart enough to remove his mask to escape, it would attack anyone firing a gun and anyone attacking it. The main unknown was how far sound traveled in Grue's darkness. If the range was too short, then Grue could easily avoid it by keeping his distance. But I would have multiple models working in concert if I ever truly went after him. The prototype was just for the meeting in case he was stupid enough to try anything.

Now that it was done, I had started working on a large coat and hood to help hide the fact that it wasn't human. I had always been good at sewing and it's size made it impractical to order it from conventional sources. I made it a very dark green, almost black, to match my color scheme.

I instructed my assistant models to start making tea as my mind became aware of Sierra coming into the docks. She was too far from me to contact through her implants, but I could track her position the same as any of my Lusus. I unlocked the front door of the hotel and moved the Terrance infiltrator so she wouldn't see it. Like everyone else in the docks, Sierra was not comfortable in an infiltrator's presence.

I was putting the finishing touches on the T1's coat when I felt Sierra enter the hotel.

-Hello Sierra, or I should I call you Lethe?-

-I guess you heard then- I heard her say with a mental sigh. -I really wish I hadn't said anything to Shadow Stalker for her to get the idea I was responsible for the memory loss. Now everyone thinks I'm a parahuman-

-Well your mask is very well made compared to even most parahumans and you do technically meet the definition of a Brute 1 and Thinker 1 with all your enhancements. I spared no expense on your upgrades. Does it really bother you to be mistaken for a parahuman?-

-Not really, it just complicates things-

-How so?-

-It's kind of hard to explain. Look, I never really thought my plan to contact you was going to work. I did it out of a mix of desperation and just to get out of that fucking house. I just wanted to feel like I was doing something, anything to get Bryce back. But here I am, talking to the vigilante who tore the Teeth apart and I assaulted a hero. It just makes everything about what I'm doing seem so real when I read about myself on PHO. God, I was making plans to go to a job fair just a week ago!-

Sierra was silent for a moment as she started to go down the long staircase. -I don't regret it by the way. I would do it all over again, as long as we get Bryce back-

-I WILL get him back Sierra. One way or another-

-Thanks for that- -Can I ask you a stupid question?- she said changing the subject.

-Sure-

-Why do you of all people use golf carts to get around down here? I figured you'd have made a horse, or something you could ride around in-

-I actually did make a giant cockroach, but I could never get comfortable on the saddle-

-I honestly can't tell if you're joking with me right now. Please tell me you're joking and a giant cockroach is not near me right now-

-Maybe- I said with a mental chuckle. -But the golf carts fulfill their purpose just fine and the entire cavern is within my range already- I said as Sierra finally came into the light near me.

She wasn't wearing her costume and had come in plain clothes. She was wearing jeans, a coat tied around her waist, and dark t-shirt, with a pair of expensive work boots. Her dreadlocks had been tied up and she looked much more well rested than yesterday.

"What are you working on?" she asked as she walked up beside me to look up at the tank.

"Something to counter Grue should he prove an issue. His darkness can disrupt my control over my Lusus, so I wanted something to deal with him in case attacked me."

"Do you seriously expect him to attack?"

"No, Grue has a reputation for keeping his word and he seems intelligent enough to know that Tinkers are very good at adapting to known tactics. But I do not have much info on his "Undersiders", so I thought it prudent to prepare for the worst."

"Probably a smart thing to do."

I turned to look at her as the solution started to drain out of the tank. I moved one of assistant models, which had all been masked for Sierra's sake, to clothe it as soon as it came out.

"I am glad you came early," I said. "I wanted to give you a proper tour of my lab and a few of my experiments. I want to make sure they aren't too…lets say excessive."

Sierra nodded her head with a serious expression on her face. "Understood. What's first?"

"That would be Yawn."

"Yawn?"

I mentally commanded my new means of travel to move toward us as I sent Sierra the schematics to her implant which caused her frown.

"So you made a giant snake?" she asked. "No, its part worm. Hmm…it doesn't have eyes and doesn't seem big enough to ride. So I'm confused how useful this is fighting the Teeth. Why did you call it Yawn?"

"It isn't for fighting. It is so I don't have to constantly remove and attach my legs when I wish to move faster," I said as the Yawn model went in front of us.

Sierra instinctively took a step back before stopping herself. I moved it forward to give her a good look at it. It was made to look like a cross between a worm and a leech. It had no eyes and both ends looked the same with its mouth closed. I was guiding it using my own eyesight.

"I called it Yawn because it looks like it is yawning when it opens its mouth". Yawn dropped down and opened its mouth as wide as it could. I took off my lab coat, which I handed to Sierra and moved my shirt up before I gently stepped inside of it. A moment later it's jaws clamped down around me, with the hidden pins entering ports on my spine. I felt a jolt before I started to move Yawn as if it was my body. I stretched myself up and around to get a feel for it.

I lowered myself so I was just above Sierra who had a look between disgust and astonishment. "I will take my coat back now, " I said as Sierra gently handed it me. "I hope I didn't shock you to badly."

Sierra composed herself before moving around to look at my new tail. "That's a little freaky, but I have sinking feeling that won't be the weirdest thing I see today."

I laughed a little at that. "Probably a good bet. Please follow me as I give you the grand tour. I can move very fast with Yawn, while you can take the golf cart."

I waited for her to get back inside the cart , and was a little amused that she checked the mirrors as she backed up to get around the cluster of tanks. I moved at a relatively slow pace and she kept up next to me without too much trouble.

-I'm glad you gave me night vision, as there aren't any lights except at the central station you met me at before. Are you trying to stay off the power grid? I read on PHO that a common issue for new Tinkers is getting an adequate power supply without it looking suspicious-

-That's correct. I have my own generators, store bought, with a few of my special tweaks. They run on my homemade biodiesel made from cloned animal fat. Its a little crude but they meet my current energy needs-

-How big is this place?-

-About the size of a large warehouse in the docks. My lab is basically shaped like a giant octagon with different stations spread throughout it that I control from the central control center. Most of it will have tanks where I grow Lusus and lab equipment, but we are going to the part of the lab where I keep a few of my more exotic ideas I wanted to run past you-

We traveled in silence for a few minutes, and passed nothing but support pillars. Sierra had a map but it didn't show the secret part of it where I kept my Butcher experiments. Sierra had mental blocks to prevent her from spilling my secrets, but the source of my abilities was something I wished to keep to myself. After a few moments we reached a set of tanks guarded by my two warrior bug models.

"Whoa," Sierra said as she got out and walked around them looking up. "These things look mean. Are they for fighting Brutes?"

-No, the warrior models were made just after my trigger event when I was bit too preoccupied with what I could make and not about how useful they would be. They are a tad too deadly and currently lack the ability to disable someone non-lethally. They are also a bit expensive to make, so I use the ones I have to guard the lab. They might be useful at slowing the Butcher down if I can get them latched on to her, but the Butcher is too mobile for them to do much. The projects I want to show you are in the tanks behind them-

Sierra took a moment to continue to stare the Warriors before turning and going to the nearest tank. Inside was a large egg sack, about the same size as a ice chest. -This is my spider egg prototype. The concept was to release a large population of tiny spiders that will live in the wall of a building. They are designed to inject a large amount of debilitating venom and to have no sexual organs. On command they would swarm out from the walls and attack pre-designated targets that have been marked with a pheromone. I wanted a way to disable specific targets like the Teeth without affecting civilians like I would with a gas or the parasite cloud-

Sierra had taken several definite steps back at the word spiders and ran her hands through her hair looking a little freaked out. -I don't even want to ask how many spiders are in there-

-Don't like spiders? Their venom is completely harmless and there is very little pain when they bite. I've checked-

-I think anyone would be freaked out with hundreds of spiders coming out of the walls and attacking people-

-Is the concept too freaky? I am trying to work on my image to the normal population-

-I think it's okay if you could guarantee they wouldn't attack civilians. But people freak out at spiders and insects. I wouldn't use it unless absolutely necessary. Attacking with spiders makes you seem like a nasty villain-

-Fair enough- I moved forward with her to the next tank that held several large green vials that were all connected to a device that vaguely looked like a large spore from a plant. I moved and coiled around the tank and the S.C.I.O.N. updated me on I ran a diagnostic.

"What's that?" Sierra asked.

-This is my answer to the Teeth pit fight. I call it a virus bomb. When detonated it will release something similar to what I used against the heroes on a much larger scale-

"So the plan is to disable them while we rescue everyone and call the heroes for help?"

"Yes, though the newest strain isn't yet up the standards of our deal" I said as I pulled up a display with the latest data.

"Our deal? What do you mean?"

-You asked for me to triple what I intended to do to the Teeth. The virus currently is quick acting and will not kill anyone. But after a little work, anyone who is exposed to it will experience a small taste of hell for the two weeks it will last. I was a little creative in how the symptoms will affect heavy drug users-

Sierra's face had a brief look of glee that she quickly hid. She walked up to the tank and looked at it carefully. "What about the prisoners?" she said turning to me.

-I will rescue them before it is detonated. I have a few ideas of inoculating them beforehand with a very small bird just to be on the safe side. Now there is just one more thing I want to show you-

I moved to the final tank, which was by far the largest one in the lab. The shape inside was hooked up to several IVs that kept it in a state of suspended animation and limited its growth. I felt a little anxious showing this to Sierra. I moved to the front of the tank and very pointedly prevented Sierra from accessing its schematics. -Sierra may I introduce Project X-

Despite Sierra's improved eyes, the water and the glass made it difficult to see inside the tank until she was almost right next to it. She leaned forward before suddenly jerking her head back. "Holy shit!" she said. She turned to look at me. "Is that what I think it is?"

-It isn't a perfect clone since I lack the right DNA, so I had to make my own-

"Why would you make one though? It doesn't seem to be very useful. Its too big and slow, and Bakuda would just blow it up."

"I am well aware of its downsides. The amount of resources making it were huge, and I will have to move it to a special made pod in the bay before it gets too big. I did mention that I got a little crazy after my trigger event. I made it originally to show off what I could do, and it was not easy to make. After I calmed down I realized how useless it was, but I had spent far too much on it to recycle it. So I combined it with my latest research to make it useful."

"What research?"

-I'm afraid that is something that I will have to keep to myself. You literally can't tell anyone my secrets Sierra, but there are some things you do not need to know-

"Fair enough" she said as she turned back to look inside. "This is going to make you front page news though. What are you going to use it for? To fight Lung?"

-Actually I was thinking of using it against Bakuda. She has started arming regular ABB members with her bombs, and I wanted to give her a large target for her to focus on while make I deal with the rest of the gang-

"Are you going to make more of them?"

-No, there is a certain enhancement I made to it that can be very, very, dangerous if it isn't used properly-

"Then why use this one if it is so dangerous?"

-Sometimes you have to take a chance to learn or gain something. Using it will teach me several things and greatly help my research in the long run. I have a contingency plan if something goes wrong, but I am fairly sure it will work as long as I use it in a very controlled and certain way-

"You're the boss" she said as she looked at several other tanks. "These are empty, what are you going to put in these" she said looking at one nearby.

-Probably a unicorn or a Pegasus-

Sierra turned to me with a laugh "Sure."

-I'm completely serious-

She paused before starting to giggle like a little kid. "I would love to see that. It'd be great for helping your image too. What color are you going to make it? White like in the movies or something exotic like purple or pink?"

-Well the original idea when I first started out was selling custom made animals so it would be whatever the client decided-

"I really want to be here when you start making them. Is there anything else you wanted to show me?"

-That is all for now anyway. We should make plans for tonight's gathering-

"I've been studying everyone in the city" she said. "I can take notes really easy thanks to the implant. I can give you notes on everyone while I wait in the truck."

-Actually, I wanted you to be present beside me-

"I don't mind, but can I ask why?"

-I still want to make sure I do not act strange around parahumans and you would be close by to monitor me. In addition I want someone who can help convey to people that I am trustworthy. I am bringing the T-1 but most people have a negative reaction to humanoid Lusus-

"Okay, but I need to go get my costume."

-I took the liberty of making you a few spares-

Aristotle had told me all about Somer's rock. It was supposed to be neutral ground for meet ups between capes. Considering the enmity between the gangs, they only met under rare circumstances. It had originally been chosen because the Marquis owned and operated it as an exclusive club and gambling den back when he was just starting out. He had a reputation for always keeping his word and he never attacked anyone who came in peace through the doors. Which apparently included the 9 during the last time they were in the Bay.

Considering its history I was a little disappointed that it turned out to be little more than a hole in the wall bar with a faded sign. It was supposed to have a large basement, but it didn't seem that impressive.

-Do they intentionally keep this place a dump so its empty like you do with the hotel?- Sierra asked.

-I assume so. The property itself is supposedly owned by New Wave for some reason, but it is being run by independent owners that used to work for the Marquis-

We were sitting in the back of one of my trucks looking through the viewpoint of a drone. The T-1 was standing guard by the door disguised with a huge dark green coat and hood. It was tall and wide enough that it would be immediately obvious that it wasn't human. We had decided to arrive early since it would give me a chance to better test whether I was still getting weird visions of trigger events.

Sierra was dressed in her costume, with her distinct hair tied up in a bun under her hood. She had decided to not bring a weapon after she had read up on everything her body could now do. She wore thick gloves with the middle finger cut off. Her fingernails were now much tougher than they used to be, and she had a small venom sac under the middle finger of each hand. She was not supposed to get into a fight, but the encounter with the heroes had taught me to be better prepared for unforeseen circumstances.

The location of the bar was perfect for keeping a low profile. It was at the edge of the docks in an old industrial district that was largely abandoned. A large network of alleys around it helped people to approach from different directions without being seen.

-Are you ready to go Sierra?- I asked as I shifted around. I had done a little work to make Yawn smaller and slimmer but we were a little cramped in the back of the smaller truck I had brought.

-I think so, though I'm a little nervous-

-Don't be. You implants are more than capable of directly controlling two Lusus at once. Once I am certain that I have no strange reactions to parahumans, I can take it back over- I changed the T1's access and saw Sierra take over it body. The T1 made a weird nervous face before stumbling around the back of the truck.

-This is different- Sierra said as she moved the T1 around to look at herself through its eyes. -It is much easier than I thought it would be-

-Of course it is. You don't think about moving your arm and opening a door. It just happens automatically-

-Any tips for controlling them?-

-Try to keep it relatively close to you since you are inexperienced at moving in its body. I also suggest you try to refrain from opening its senses up to their fullest, since you are not used to those either. Lets practice with the T1. Feel the vents around its body and send out a strong sound-

-Okay- A moment later the T1 and Sierra jerked their heads back. -Ow. Everything was really, really, loud for a second. I hadn't realized how sensitive its hearing was- she said as she turned the T1 to face me. -Not to mention I just found out you have two hearts! I can hear them beating-

I shrugged my shoulder in an exaggerated gesture -My body has an emergency system to sort of push it into overdrive. Despite my upgraded heart, I need at least two to keep it from being overwhelmed. Now I want you take over my bird avatar on the roof-

I took over the drone's camera and focused on my avatar as Sierra took it over. Its head suddenly went still and looked around. It flew up into the sky and started doing circles while Sierra started making these little "ohs" and "ahs".

"This is amazing," she said. "I can fly!"

-I know how distracting it can be and so feel free to have some fun while we walk. You should be more than capable of multitasking. Are you read to go?-

"I'm ready."

-Good, then lets go- I said as I opened up the door and moved outside. Behind me the T1 stepped off and dropped to one knee while holding out its hand. Sierra grabbed the hand and used its knee as a step to get off of the truck. The T1 reached into the truck and took the very heavy case to give to New Wave. The drones did not show anyone so we took our time to walk to the alley.

We made an unusual sight. I was moving in the middle with Sierra taking position on my left and the T1 on my right. Sierra seemed to be having fun controlling the T1. When I controlled it, its movements were purposeful and direct. While Sierra controlled it, its movements were alot more excited and its head constantly went back from side to side as she took advantage of the echolocation.

A moment later my bird avatar landed on the T1's head causing me to briefly laugh. -I thought you wanted to fly? - I asked without moving my head.

-I do, but I want to be focused on the meeting and it is too distracting. I don't know how you can be so organized when you can experience flying whenever you want-

-Practice helps and I have different thought processes when I control them. I can't help but evaluate the biology and performance of the Lusus constantly. Would you like a bird? You can tell people it is a trained pet and fly whenever you want-

-Really? I'd love one-

-Just tell me what you want it too look like. Actually, scratch that. That could be suspicious if looks too unique. Just do some research and pick a bird. I will make it for you-

We followed the drone's direction and pretty soon we reached the back door of the bar, which was unlocked. Sierra moved the T1 forward and sent it in first to make sure there wasn't a trap. I went last since my tail took up a lot of room in the narrow hallway.

The hallway led into the main room, which was much larger than I had pictured. It had an aesthetic of a faded grandeur. Inside were ornate and expensive looking chandeliers, next to old wooden tables, and black painted walls. Several tables had been pulled together in the middle.

We seemed to be the first people to arrive. I moved to the end of the tables pulled together and removed two of the chairs, so I could coil up at the end. Sierra took the seat next to me and moved the T1 behind us standing.

-I guess we did leave a little too early. I'm just so used to there being more traffic- Sierra said.

-I thought you were recently a college student. Is it not normal to stay up late to study and travel?-

-It was but everything was within walking distance of the campus and I didn't have the money to spend on gas. Did you ever go to school?- Sierra asked turning her head to face me.

-I did attend school for a time, but certain circumstances forced me to be homeschooled-

Sierra looked like she was going to say something when we were interrupted by a small yelp and we turned to look at a young woman who had come out of two doubles doors. She was wearing a waitress outfit, and had put her hands over her face in surprise. She immediately turned back into what I assume was the kitchen.

-I really need to work on my public relations if normal people are having that reaction to me- I said with mental sigh.

-She might have just been surprised- Sierra said comforting me. -You are seen as a vigilante but PHO considers you a hero. Considering she is serving as a waitress at a meeting with known villains in attendance, she probably isn't normal herself. She also didn't hear us since we have been using our…thought speak the whole time. Though I agree that we should keep work on your public persona. Though the peace offering you made to give to New Wave should help immensely- she said as the T1 lifted the case into view for me.

A moment later, the woman came back out holding a small notepad and pen. She walked up a little nervously to us and put it down on the table while she waited patiently nearby. It had instructions to write down what we wanted.

-Why does she want us to write it down?- Sierra asked.

-I believe she is deaf- I said as I turned to study her.

-Oh, well that makes sense for this type of restaurant- Sierra said picking up the pen. -I'm not hungry, though I could use a drink to calm my nerves. Though you made it so I can't get drunk- she teased.

-You actually can turn off a few functions of your new pancreas so you can enjoy the benefits of some alcohol. But yes, it will still be very difficult for you to become intoxicated-

-Just as well, I can't drink or eat anything with the mask and I didn't bring any money. Do you want something? - She asked looking at the pad.

-My mask could use some water, and the T1 could do with some nutrients to help test out its digestive system, but I didn't bring any money either. I wonder if she would mind doing a trade? - I carefully took the notepad from Sierra and wrote down an offer to trade some water and soup for healing her deafness. I made sure to mention that it would probably take only a few minutes, would be painless, and could be done right after the meeting.

-You have very good handwriting- Sierra said looking at the paper. -You wrote it neatly without any lines-

-I have excellent muscle control- I said as I tore the page off and handed it to the waitress. She read it and got a look of surprise before looking back at me. She quickly wrote down what type of soup they had, and asked where to meet. I circled the first soup and wrote down the location of the truck and to keep it to herself. She nodded and left.

-You know if you just keep doing that, people will trust you more. Why can't you just work at the hospital? Don't they let villains get a pass if they can heal? -

-Depends on their crimes and its usually for a deal to heal during Endbringer fights. I do have a warrant out for my arrest and no hospital would let me work with them right now. I do intend to open up a free clinic once I know I can adequately protect it-

-Someone is walking up to the front door- Sierra said.

-I thought we agreed not use the drones because of the unwritten rules? - I said a little nervously. I was reasonably sure I wouldn't get any visions but the memories of the last experience were not good.

-We did and I moved them after we came in. But I can hear two people coming with the T1-

After a moment, I could suddenly hear the heavy creak of armor coming from some distance. The front door suddenly opened and a figure wearing a cross between a medieval knights gear and a diving suit walked in. His armor was damaged with the arm and side crush in several places, and was the source of the creaking. He had some kind of German writing on the front, and had a large axe on his back. He or she froze at the sight of us, as did his companion when he walked in. His companion was wearing a heavy coat for winter with a long, open, white robe over it. He did not wear mask, and had a shaved head with a very thick beard and eyebrows.

-You have studied the parahumans in the city? Can I test your knowledge? - I asked Sierra as the two men looked at me warily as they sat at a table near the big one instead of near me.

-Sure, the skinhead is Glacier and the armor guy is Schattenritter. Both were part of the 88 until recently since they were part of a recent coup attempt against Kaiser. They are the only survivors who have remained in the city except for Soapstone who apparently didn't know he was working for the 88. Glacier is some kind of ice and electricity blaster. Schattenritter is a grab bag cape, but the only two confirmed powers he has are making a few human like minor Brutes in his armor, and a beam that can sap vitality back to him. They don't seem to like you- She said as Glacier was glaring daggers at me with a set jaw, and the cords in his neck were visible.

A hysterical sort of laugh escaped my lips as I stared right back causing the guy in armor to stiffen up and Glacier to look away and rub his arm. Sierra turned briefly toward me laughing before moving her head back to stare at them.

-I don't like them either- I said as the waitress came out with our order. She put it down in front of us and went to put a notepad in front of the two former 88-gang members.

I picked up the glass of water and slowly started to pour it on my mask, which absorbed it like a sponge and shot out in new growth before starting the growth cycle over. Sierra was staring at the soup and looked back at the T1.

-You can just have it pour the soup down its throat- I said. -But be sure not to pour too much at once or its gag reflex will be triggered-

She obeyed and had the T1 pick up the bowl, and the bird plopped down onto her shoulder. She had it pull back its hood, and periodically had it gulp the soup down.

Two new faces walked in.

One was just wearing workman's clothes with a cap, sunglasses, and a blue bandana tied around his mouth. The woman behind him was just dressed in normal street clothes, though her coat and purse she was wearing looked very expensive. She wore a custom looking mask, that looked like the kind you would see at Mardi Gras that covered the top half of her face. Though it looked like it was made of some kind of expensive white leather. The man took a seat near the main table on the complete opposite side the 88 duo, while the woman took a seat at the main table in the middle while turning to look at the T1 drinking and us. I was unsure if I should attempt to communicate with her or not when she gave us a nod. Her body language suggested she was nervous, and I decided to leave her alone.

-Those two are normal rogues- Sierra said. -The guy in the bandana is a master that can make quick moving purple spheres that look and move like amoebas. They're really fast and can apparently grow arms to cut things and have a second mode where they're bigger but slower. The merchants tried to grab him once and they found out they can explode in their second mode. He works as a gardener and landscaper. Though he is also apparently starting to use his powers to quickly sculpt statues and just started calling himself Escultor-

-The woman just goes by Queue. She can grade people up to six pre chosen options by arbitrary criterion. Stuff like people in this room by most dangerousness, most likely to lie, etc. She works for businesses by contract, and I'm guessing she is here to make sure no one is a spy-

I turned back to study her after hearing about her power. She seemed to be fairly successful going by her wardrobe, but she didn't have a bodyguard. Going around the wrong place looking like that was asking for someone to mug or kidnap her. But she came here with no fear by herself. Did such a power count her as a precog? How accurate was she?

A warning from Sierra that the back door was opening distracted me from studying her. The to next to arrive were three men wearing black pants, shirts, and identical masks that had 1s and 0s printed on them and covered the tops of their faces. One was on the short side with his hair slicked back and he wore fingerless gloves. Another was tall and thin, with stringy pale blonde hair and the glint of glasses behind his mask. He had an almost comically large pistol, and a stuffed backpack behind him. The last man was normal height and had his brown hair parted in the middle like a politicians haircut.

They also took a seat at the main table, with Mr. Politician sitting in the middle. They turned to look at me and started to furiously whisper to each other. I turned to look at Sierra.

-Those guys are known as the Trio and work as private investigators. They apparently triggered as a group and much later in life than most parahumans. The only confirmed power is the guy with the gun who is known as Multitool on PHO. He can make machines that fulfill numerous functions but require a lot of maintenance. The gun can switch from grenades, armor piercing, a machine gun, etc. Their van can famously drive, travel on water, and briefly hover-

-What about the other two? -

-They go my Ringo and Melvin. Melvin is believed to be some kind of shaker as he has been seen shutting down electricity and vehicles from a distance. Ringo is thought to be some kind of striker, but there is nothing confirmed on him-

-What are they talking about so excitedly? -

-They are wondering whether they should ask you for an interview. They are notorious for not trusting the government and being conspiracy theorists. They run a website and newsletter that runs stories like secret bunkers and illegal government testing. They really don't like the PRT and argue it is causing the problems they are supposedly solving-

As if on cue, they all got up and Ringo came up in front of me. Sierra had the T1 turn and they briefly flinched before coming closer. "Hello, Faust" he said without missing a beat. "You can call me Ringo. My associates and I happen to run a small newsletter covering stories the mainstream media doesn't give the right attention to." He leaned in slightly and looked me full where my eyes would be. "We were wondering if we could schedule an interview with you about your recent activities. We have been following your recent exploits on the docks and feel that the PRT hasn't been treating you fairly."

"Not surprising coming from them," Multitool said.

"Same old story. They can't stand a powerful parahuman who won't join them," Melvin said.

I rose up so I was eye level and briefly tried to give a diplomatic smile before remembering my mask. I wasn't so sure about giving them an interview. On the one hand it could help to remove a few preconceived notions of me, but on the other hand their newsletter didn't seem to be very well read or the most trusted if I had never heard it. Then again, the PRT couldn't trust me any less at this point so it might not do any harm and they were the first people that seemed to be on my side.

"Can you give me time to think on it? I'm a bit busy at the moment, "I finally said.

"We completely understand," he answered. "If you change your mind, here is my card." He opened up his coat and reached into his pocket and found it empty. He smiled nervously at me and started rapidly checking his entire coat before he found what he wanted. He carefully handed his card to me, and Sierra reached out and took it from him before he closer to me. "We happen to be good at investigating things, so if you ever have need for a discrete private investigator, be sure to give us a call."

With that they turned and went back to their seats in a rush. Where upon they immediately started whispering again. Queue looked at them with seeming distaste and started fiddling with a cellphone.

-Are you really going to give them an interview? - Sierra asked. -If you are trying to improve you public perception to the PRT, their newsletter is probably not the place to do it. It isn't very well read or flattering to the PRT-

-True, but they seem to at least support what I am doing and they could come in handy. Besides, I know of a few others who have some major issues with the PRT- I said thinking of Aristotle.

A larger group of four people came in together a short time later and they immediately had my attention considering their unusual get up. One was dressed up like mix of a a clown and acrobat. She had on colorful face paint, and long ribbons hanging from her hair.

Beside her was man with a round face, and greasy hair tied into a ponytail. He wore a metal mask and goggles, but he was wearing some kind of compact power armor that looked like something from a steam punk artist.

The next wore an extremely tight and padded black suit and mask. His long white beard and large gut made him look like Santa in gimp suit. The man bringing up the rear stopped to stare at me, before he saw I was looking and hurried after the rest. He was dressed in a simple brown suit, but wore yellow police tape wrapped around his face like a weird mummy. They moved as a group to the main table and the woman in the clown make up seemed to be in charge of them.

-Colorful group- I said.

-Sure are. They are all a bunch of independent villains who recently formed their own unnamed group instead of joining Grue. They don't even have a name yet. The woman in the Circus get up is actually named Circus and seems to have started the group. She and I guess the rest of them seem to just work as thieves. She's a grab bag cape with a private pocket space, enhanced agility, and small pyrokinesis. -

-The guy in the armor is Trainwreck and he is just a low level Tinker who can make crude tech from garbage, but usually just acts as a decent Brute. He actually joined the Teeth but was declared a spy by the Butcher when she came back to town. She made him participate in several pit fights. He won enough to get out and now just work as little more than hired muscle since Faultline wouldn't take him-

-The weird Santa guy is another Tinker named Goodyear. Specializes in resilient flexible polymers and inflatable tech, and great at shock absorption. Used to make a decent amount by selling very tough body armor to the Chain Gang before Lung destroyed them. Supposedly has a bit of a gambling problem-

-The nervous looking guy with the police tape goes by Impulse. He is a master striker who can force anyone he touches to very briefly follow his orders. Only surviving member of the Chain Gang who had the sense to run when Lung first showed up. People thought he was retired until recently-

-The pretty blonde in the tight business suit is Bombshell. She can place an aura that makes her completely anonymous, but simultaneously the most attractive and interesting person around. Though some on PHO argue that her power is that she can redirect people's attention-

-I do not see Bombshell- I said as I turned and looked at their group. I activated the S.C.I.O.N. to run a diagnostic and initiate anti Stranger protocols. I felt a jolt as my mind sort of rebooted and for just a moment I saw a very pretty woman in a tight blue business suit that showed off her curves. She wore a simple domino mask and her face paled when she caught me staring at her before quickly looking at the ground.

-Are you all right Faust? - Sierra asked in alarm. -I just got an alert about what you did. Was it Bombshell messing with you? -

-I think she was a little intimidated and used her power on me so I wouldn't notice her, but I am fine- I assured her. -I got to experience a stranger effect, which is good data, so no harm done. Though if she does it again, I am going to make my displeasure known- I said as Circus briefly glanced at Bombshell than me with a frown.

Uber and Leet arrived next wearing their trademark black dusters. Uber was wearing some kind of armor underneath and had a black cowboy hat on, over his black mask. Leet was wearing something colorful and white underneath his duster, as well as a sort of crown of golden leaves around his brow. He wore a mask depicting a youthful looking face and had a large bow decorated with wings handing on his back. Two little camera drones zipped around them and I was impressed that they could fly and be so small. I was curious how they got the tech so compacted.

"Hey no fucking cameras" Circus said as she stood up angrily pointing at the little snitch like things. "Put those things away right now or I'm taking them. You know the rules."

"Okay don't get your panties in a bunch" Uber said pulling up his mask to show a smile. He talked in a voice that seemed like something in a movie trailer. "Just wanted a little footage of us coming through the door." He looked over at Leet who nodded and pushed something on his belt that caused the cameras to move toward him. He grabbed them out of the air and pocketed them before moving with Uber to the main table.

More people started to come in ones and twos before taking seats. Sierra provided commentary as they sat down. I was little distressed to discover that we were still the only heroes there and we were fairly isolated on our end of the table. Everyone else was bunched up in small groups.

Cold Storage was there, in bulky white armor with wisps of mist coiling around him, as well as his on-again-off-again partner Mouthpiece in a white bodysuit with concentric black rings radiating out from her chest onto the rest of her body. They had been lying low recently after Cold Storage got badly burned by one of Accord's ambassadors for robbing a place in Accord territory. Apparently he did it without asking for permission.

Felix with his wooden bird mask carried a large cage filled with birds next to his partner 13th hour who wore an oversized heavy-duty helmet. 13th hour used to be a hero and the two of them were recent immigrants to the city. According to Sierra they badly embarrassed Epoch by making him fall asleep and mugging him. Epoch was lucky that he didn't show up well on cameras.

Flashdrive with her heavily tattooed hands sat at a table of villains without a team who were all talking to each other and coming to a deal. Stress-Test with his large shield and loop of chain around his waist, Joyride wearing a large see through cloth over his eyes and heavy headphones, and a woman Sierra didn't recognize who was wearing an ornate metal visor over her the top half of her face.

The rest were rogues who were all by themselves though they were talking amongst each other. Martyr, a heavy-duty brute who could soak up the damage of anyone he had touched in the last hour, was talking to Decon. I knew of Decon already from my brief time working at a hospital. He had the power to sterilize anything in a small area around him and the hospitals used him to decrease the spread of diseases and viruses. The short woman in the Doll mask was Parian, who was sitting and talking to Glitter and Wrinkle. I had seen Glitter's light illusions downtown, but Wrinkle was new. According to Sierra he could "bunch up" or "wrinkle" space and was trying to find a way to use his power for profit.

Next to them was Hemlock who wore thick gloves that went up her forearms talking with the famous Watson who charged a considerable amount for her power to boost the thinking ability of everyone near her. Next to them was Slake in her custom helmet painted to look like raindrops. She seemed to be giving tips to Escultor about running a business with a power.

The only other rogue present was Ambush who sat at her own table eating a large plate of salad. She didn't wear a mask but her hair stuck out at weird angles and she had a wild look in her eye. Ambush was a well-known homeless woman who had a reputation for not being very sane. She didn't normally bother anyone, but she had murdered several people who had tried to mess with her or other homeless people including two police officers caught beating a homeless man. She was a very minor Brute but also had the ability to conceal anything twenty feet around her including herself. The Teeth had tried in the past to ambush her by hurting or threatening other homeless, but she was ruthless enough to abandon people to save her own skin.

Epoch suddenly appeared in the middle of the room causing everyone to become animated. The bird fell off of Sierra's lab and the T1 jumped forward. Everyone present started yelling or insulting him, which caused Epoch to just wave until his gaze fell on Felix and 13th hour. They waved right back, which seemed to irritate him.

I was surprised to see Phoenix come through the front door right behind him with an angry look on her face. Epoch put his hand behind his neck sheepishly while he looking around until he saw us and motioned to Phoenix. They both sat right next to me, though Sierra seemed to match Phoenix's annoyance at Epoch. The bird avatar's human eye was glaring at him as he sat down.

"Hello Faust, nice to see you again. You must be Lethe," he said holding his hand out to Sierra. "I am the one and only Epoch."

His voice modulator seemed to throw Sierra off but she took a quick breath and shook his hand. "Its nice to meet you as well. I have heard a lot about you." -Not everything good- she told me privately.

"As I you," he answered. "I never liked Shadow Stalker so I applaud what you did to her. Though I wish you had refrained from fighting the other heroes as it makes me look bad if I work with you," he said looking at me.

"The fact that she has an arrest warrant for attacking villains is bullshit" Phoenix piped in. "She has made the docks safer they have ever been in decades and look what the PRT does. Stupid bastards."

"Hear, Hear," shouted Melvin from down the table which caused Phoenix to freeze and look a little embarrassed as she saw a few people were staring at her since she was little loud.

"If you are uncomfortable working with me, I will understand." I said.

"No, I have seen the authorities turn a blind eye to people in need before. If it makes the city safer, I will be glad to work with you. Besides, the city could use a new hero group."

"More likely you realize that you aren't doing so well by yourself," Phoenix said with a grin as she looked at 13th hour.

"I didn't realize what her power was, so sue me. 13th hours range seems to be limited. If I fight her outside of it, they will be easy to take down. Besides you are one to talk. I seem to remember a period where Oni Lee killed you over and over and over."

"Have either of you worked with New Wave," Sierra asked trying to change the subject.

"I've met Glory Girl before," Phoenix said. "She seemed nice if a little stuck up."

"I've never met them." Epoch said as he took the notepad from the waitress. "Been approached by a few of the Wards for a recruitment spiel but I turned them down. Too many rules and I don't want to deal with any drama."

Phoenix snorted at that, which Epoch ignored as he jotted down something before passing it to her. She accepted it and simply wrote down a glass of water.

"You two seem to be getting along a bit better" I said with an inquiring tone in my voice. "At least you don't seem close to coming to blows."

"We came to an understanding about something," Phoenix said in an even tone. "He is still an idiot though."

"And you are still two faced," Epoch retorted. "Is the food free?" he asked waving the waitress over.

"I think our meals are on the house since Faust offered to fix the waitresses hearing." Sierra answered.

"I knew a deaf guy. Got an implant and everything, but a few people gave him shit for some reason." Epoch said as Sierra laughed.

"Why are you laughing," he said annoyed.

"Its your voice. Everything you say sounds so weird with that voice. Where did you get it?"

"You can order it custom online" he said as the waitress placed his drink in front of him. He opened up a little vent in front of his mask, and pulled out a bendy straw from his pocket. He took a long sip as we stared. "That hits the spot."

Phoenix and I looked at each other and laughed. "Do you know what time these things usually start?" I asked them.

"Depends on who put the meeting together," Epoch said as she drank through his straw. "That would be probably be Faultline if Queue is here." He motioned with his head at her. "She usually hires Queue to be present for important contracts."

"Do either of you know any about Queue? She is well dressed and looks like an easy mark but has no bodyguards. I'm curious why none of the gangs have tired to recruit her."

"Oh, she is a teleporter," Epoch said. "It isn't well known since she just runs if someone tries to fight, but she can teleport to any location that is reflecting her like glass. It isn't very long range, but I think she can use her Thinker power to figure out the best route to get away."

"Before you ask, yes he is a cape geek and a virgin," Phoenix said.

"Read between the lines," Epoch sang in his weird voice holding up his middle three fingers.

New Wave finally showed up next, with Manpower, Lady Photon, and Lightstar representing them. They were all dressed in their white and color highlighted costumes except for Lightstar who still wore black in remembrance of Fleur. They looked around the room and started to whisper amongst themselves.

-What are the talking about?- I asked Sierra.

"They're arguing about where to sit," she said as she realized she said it out loud which caused Epoch and Phoenix to look back at her.

"Why are they arguing about that?" Phoenix asked.

"Manpower and Lady Photon don't want to sit near Faust since they think that will be condoning her actions" she said sounding annoyed. "But Lightstar seems to approve of our methods and wants to sit with the other indepedent heroes."

"Well at least one of them has his priorities straight," Phoenix said with a small huff.

New Wave continued to argue before Lightstar left and pointedly took a seat next to Epoch. Manpower and Lady Photon looked at each other before sitting on the other side of Queue away from us.

Lightstar had somewhat of a baby face and looked younger than he was. Though he had thick wrinkles around his eyes. His black costume had green highlights and he had a small bag filled with various things to throw with his power. "Don't mind them, they just have other priorities," he said with a smile. "Its nice to meet you all," he said holding out his hand. We all shook it and introduced ourselves.

"I appreciate that you are willing to talk with us. I understand the others misgivings. But there will not be a repeat of my recent actions," I said.

"Don't worry about it," he replied. "They just don't want to hurt relations with the PRT right now. They hate the Teeth as much as anyone after they kidnapped Lazerdream to force them to fight. Though try to refrain from going in person around other heroes for the foreseeable future. They are now all required to wear full protective gear when they get near you now."

"I did not plan to fight anyone and I am sorry for how I acted. To make amends I made a gift for the PRT. -Now please Sierra- I said.

The T1 picked up the case and plopped it down in front of Lightstar who looked at me with questioning eyes. "What is in this?," he asked.

"The cure for cancer."

"Pardon?" he said as everyone nearby turned to look at us. Ringo had pulled out a notepad and was furiously writing, Queue concentrated intently on us before her mouth opened dumbfounded, Uber started to whisper with Leet, and Phoenix just laughed.

"I am aware that Panacea can easily make cures for various ailments, but cancer remains an issue for many people. That is all of my notes that I have tried to make as simple and low tech as possible with some help from a trusted source. They also predict that modern medicine will be able to turn cancer cells into normal cells within five years using my methods. I have also included a website where I am willing to answer questions and share any research that is run over a private server overseas. Tell them to consider it a gift and apology for my recent actions."

He stared down at the case and back at me before smiling. "I knew I was going to like you."

"You can really do that?" Epoch asked with his voice a little in awe.

"Yes, the main issue was trying to figure out a way to replicate the feat without my tech. It isn't perfect but I think it should make a cure for cancer a realistic possibility. There is one more thing I have to give you," I said as I pulled out an envelope and handed it to him.

"Yes?"

"I have always admired New Wave and what they tried to do. I owe a debt to Panacea and to Fleur, which I intend to pay however I can. Inside is a way to contact me if you need anything, no questions asked. Unlike Panacea, I can work with brains and am capable of physical or mental enhancements."

Lightstar got a hard look in his eye as he looked down at the envelope. "Thank you" he said. "I don't think we will ever need it thanks to Amy but I won't turn away help. "Would you excuse me?" he said a little chocked up as he got up and left to sit next to Lady Photon.

-I feel so bad for him. What exactly did Panacea and Fleur do for you? - Sierra asked.

-I got to see Panacea use her power, which gave me several good ideas that greatly expanded my abilities. Fleur is a personal matter, which I wish to keep private-

"Are you guys doing the mind talk thing Phoenix was talking about?" Epoch asked. "You have been strangely silent with each other."

"Yes, I apologize for not including you. I made a device for allowing Lethe to communicate privately with me."

"Do you think you could give me a few upgrades?" Epoch asked. "Being tougher or reacting quicker would come in handy as a fellow hero."

"I wouldn't mind at all. I already promised Phoenix to try and do the same."

Epoch was about to ask another question when Sierra gave me a warning. -The T1 just recognized Grue's mask from the front door- I turned and forced myself to relax as they came inside.

Grue himself looked similar to how he had before, with his biomechanical costume. Behind him were two figures, two men and two women who followed him inside. While Aristotle hadn't been able to find out their powers, they had found out their names.

One of the men had a slim figure, and a dancer's build which made him Regent. He wore a costume that looked similar to something you would find on a renaissance fair with a red and gold color scheme. He was wearing a golden mask that depicted a smiling face and a large red coat that went almost to the floor. Underneath he had on a white puffy shirt with skintight leggings tucked into knee-high boots. On his head was a small silver crown that hung at an angle. He wielded a long and thick sword that had a small mechanical component on the side of handle.

The other man, Golem, was heavyset and wearing armor that was modeled to look like obsidian rock. He wore an all black helmet with a large white diamond that had white lines inside depicting a small mountain. Fan like decorations jutted out of his waist and shoulders, the spaces stretching between the slats painted white, a bright metal composing the frames and edges. He moved slowly and I could tell he wasn't used to wearing all the armor. Aristotle confirmed that he had killed several 88 members during his debut which made me weary of him since I didn't know what his power was.

One of the women had four large dogs on leashes and wasn't wearing much of costume. That had to be Rachel Lindt, or Bitch as she preferred to be known. She wore a plaid skirt, army boots, a torn-up sleeveless T-shirt and a hard plastic, dollar-store Rottweiler mask The dogs themselves were a mix of breeds but in good health for their age. Though one of the smaller ones was missing an eye. I was curious how her power worked and if it would work on a few of my Lusus.

The other female walking beside Grue was completely unknown by Aristotle. She wore a custom purple and black power armor that had a feminine shape. Judging by how she moved, most of the suits strength seemed to be geared to just helping the suit move. She also wore a full black helmet like Golem, but hers had purple flames decorating it. An open black flame was burning from a vent on her shoulder and it seemed to burn more intensely as she turned her gaze toward me. Over her armor she had two large belts crossing her chest that were completely covered with strange ammunition and firearms. On her back was a huge gun that was decorated and painted with red flames.

She stopped staring and walked straight up to us with no hesitation. Sierra moved the T1 up but I reassured her as the woman sat down next to Epoch and put her legs on the table.

"Hello Faust, nice to finally meet you," she said. "You can call me Pyrotechnical." She waved at Grue who moved to the opposite end of the tables across from me.

"Hello all," he said in his eerie voice. "I apologize for our lateness, but Lung left a gambling hall undefended thanks to the fact that Faust hit them in the face with some kind of toxic goop a week ago. It seemed a shame to not take advantage of her kindness." His mask shifted into a grin as he sat down.

I had the bird on the table start to laugh in a mocking tone. "You're welcome, but please tell your little Imp to show herself before I make her do so."

"You heard her," Pyrotechnical said. " You don't won't to make another bad impression with her."

Glacier suddenly fell back in his chair with a yell as the same small figure from the recording appeared sitting cross-legged on his table. She wore the same brightly colored and horned demon mask with dark clothing. This time she was wearing a white scarf around her neck that looked expensive and had two large knives holstered at her belt.

She waved at Glacier as she vanished again. The S.C.I.O.N. sent me a warning and reminder that someone was using a stranger effect on me as I wondered why Glacier had fallen over. The same girl with the demon mask suddenly showed up next to Grue. She whispered something in Regent's ear, which caused him to snicker.

"Is everyone here?" Grue asked. "Should we get started?"

"We are still missing Faultline who is waiting outside the door to make a good entrance," Pyrotechnical said. "Always have to be the last one to arrive don't you Faultline?" She yelled. "You're not fooling anyone. You can come in now."

There was brief pause before Faultline walked in like that was her plan all along. She was wearing a weird costume, which was a mix of an evening dress and riot gear. Next to her were a few of the strangest people I had ever seen and I nearly drooled at their sight.

One was a bald, and morbidly obese man. He had pale, translucent skin that revealed a shadow of his skeleton and organs, small spiral growths around his body. A large stylized U, the symbol on every Case 53, was on his upper arm. Next to him was a young man, bear chested, with his symbol over his heart. He had orange skin, light blue eyes, dark red hair, and a five-foot long prehensile tail. Despite his strange appearance, he was not unattractive. The last one wore a full body robe and had a long scythe, to fit the stereotype of a grim reaper. He wore a stylized skull mask that several patterns over it and hovered just above the ground giving the whole image a great effect.

I had so many questions looking at them. Was their DNA different? What happened if I crossed them with a Butcher? Why did their seed cause such a physical appearance, maybe they were faulty? I really, really, wanted to take a sample and get back to the lab. Maybe I could I sent a Lusus after the meting to look fro DNA samples. It wouldn't be that hard. What to do first? I deficiently need to…..

-Hey Faust-

-Yes Sierra? -

-Your brain just had a huge increase in Dopamine. Are you okay? -

-Yes- I said in amusement. -I just got excited looking at the Case 53s. I'm itching to take a sample and head back to the lab to study them-

-Okay, maybe you can pay Faultline for that later. But right now you might want to focus. You're coiled up and look like you want to tackle Faultline-

I looked down and saw that my fingers had clenched the table so hard it had cracked a little and a few people were staring at me. I took a deep breath as Faultline took a seat across from New Wave and next to Circus's group.

"Don't worry about the table, Epoch can fix it for you" Pyrotechnical said. She had crossed her arms and was balancing back on her chair on two legs.

Epoch looked at her before looking at the table and repairing the damage. "Its probably a Tinker thing, so don't worry about it. I dislike clocks thanks to my power."

"Thank you," I told him, as everyone got comfortable.

"Nice of you to join us Faultline," Uber said.

"Some of us have actual work to do," she said with a sneer.

"Considering three people got taken despite being under your people's protection, you might want to improve your work" Pyrotechnical called down. The man with the translucent skin frowned at her but Faultline pointedly ignored her.

"Now that we are all here, we can get started" Grue said. "For those of you that are new, this meeting is about protection. We live in a dangerous city, and we chose to strike out on our own instead of joining a gang or the PRT. We occasionally meet to group up for protection or to occasionally focus on a gang that gets too dangerous."

"Right now the worry is the same old story with the Butcher. She brought an old Teeth member named Bloodhound, who can track people from where they've been or if they have something they're wearing. In the past he followed parahuman's trails and ambushed them when they were alone or sent the Butcher do to the deed. But she isn't invincible and the Teeth aren't that numerous right now."

"So what is the plan exactly?" Queue asked. "Why don't we have anyone with a plan go one after the other?"

"I will go first," Faultline said.

"Of course you will," Pyrotechnical said with disdain and low enough that only we could hear her.

"The Butcher is really only dangerous to us for the next few days. After the Pit Fight is over, she will attack Accord, Lung, or the Empire with any new recruits she gets. So I propose we simply pick an area in the city and agree to stay and defend the place together. The Butcher is crazy enough to attack us, but she won't risk her Teeth getting hurt before the Pit Fight. Right now, we're the biggest parahuman group in the city and she will look for isolated parahumans to snatch."

"So you would have us run and hide like frightened rabbits," Glacier called out with his weedy voice. "We should simply attack their territory and force them to leave. The Butcher has shown that she will retreat to preserve her followers. That is her weakness."

"Except for the fact that she will just come back later," Lady Photon said. "People have tried that before, but it never takes. This is the birthplace of the Teeth and where Bloody Tuesday took place. The Butcher will never give this place up. The Empire and Lung once teamed up to push her out and she simply retreated once she realized she wouldn't win. Then she came back harder with reinforcements.

"The Butcher has done this plenty of times and trained other cities how to act, " Pyrotechnical said with a built in microphone. "As long as cities don't hurt the Teeth too much, they won't escalate and the Butcher won't show up. But she makes it a point to go hard at anyone who attacks them too hard. Most cities are hard pressed on their own, so they focus elsewhere so they don't have to deal with the Butcher. We do your plan and she comes back in a month after gathering more Teeth from neighboring cities with a grudge and a hit list."

"I don't think I can stand to look at your ugly ass more than a few minutes at a time anyway," Imp said.

"What about the Elite?" Queue asked. "They forced her out of Saint Louis and she doesn't look like she is going to go back there."

"The Elite are arguably the biggest parahuman organization in the country," Pyrotechnical said. "They might only have one or two main groups for fighting, but they are numerous enough that the Teeth would take too much damage in a battle of attrition, and they don't care if a lot of the lower members die."

"Not to mention they have a lot more heavy hitters than us." Uber chimed in.

"Lets just have the gangs to do the fighting for us." Circus said.

"Elaborate please" Ringo asked.

"We just find out where most of their infrastructure in the city is and let the gangs know. Kaiser hates the Teeth and is looking to restore his credibility. He'll attack and it's far enough away from their territory that they won't be able to hold it."

"Kaiser will still do his best to hold it and they aren't much better than the Teeth," Grue said. "Besides Lung and Accord will take advantage of that and the last thing we need is a new gang war."

"I propose we find the Teeth's pit fight and attack it directly," I said. I felt everyone's eyes turn toward me as I waited for someone to say something. When nobody did, I continued. "I have a means of tracking the Teeth to their Pit Fight and have a weapon to deal with them."

"What type of weapon exactly?" Grue asked.

"I call it a virus bomb. Once detonated it will spread a quick acting sickness over a wide area. Everyone affected will be incapacitated for days and I can inoculate us beforehand so we are immune. The Teeth will not be able to move that large a population quickly, and the authorities will find most of them after we inform them of its location."

"Forgive us if we can't exactly trust you," Uber said.

"You aren't getting anywhere near me with your fucking diseases," Trainwreck yelled.

"I do not require much help. I just require enough parahumans to hold the Teeth off while we rescue their hostages. Once they are safe we detonate the bomb and we win. The Butcher can blame me all she wants. I will just detonate a new virus every time she dares to gather the Teeth in my city."

"We do outnumber them greatly," Grue said thinking it over.

"I didn't come here to sign up for a war," Parian said from the back. "I came here to find a few other parahumans to group up with for protection. I say we go with Faultline's plan."

"Faultline neglects to mention that she won't be helping us," Pyrotechnical said. "She has all her people out on contract. She'll be sitting in some rich guys house with most of her team."

Faultline still seemed to make it a point of ignoring her, but she shook her head in agreement. "Unfortunately I don't have much to offer. Most of my forces are booked and I make it a point not to break a contract. I can offer support in a week."

"Then why the hell are you here?" Rachel asked from behind Grue.

Several people started to talk up at once and they started to argue.

-Sierra, do you mind if I take over the bird again? I haven't felt any side effects and I wish to speak to Faultline without causing a scene by moving to her-

-Sure, I'm giving you access right now-

I took over the bird and hopped it onto the table. I had it walk slowly toward Faultline causing everyone to stare at it, and Circus backed away from it as it passed. Faultline looked at me curiously before looking at it. "Yes, what can I do for you?"

"I wanted to know if there was no way for you to cancel you contracts. I am prepared to offer double your prices, physical enhancements, several Tinker surgeries to help a few of your team mates look more human, and guaranteed access to one of the best healers in this world in the event of injury. Are you sure I can't get you to reconsider?"

Newter and Gregor looked surprised and Mr. Grim moved forward to whisper in Faultline's ear. Her face looked like she hadn't expected that offer. "Can your really do that?," Gregor asked.

"I won't know for sure until I do a more in depth examination, but your more obvious physical differences should be child's play for me to fix."

"That is a very generous offer," Faultline said. "But I'm afraid I have to turn you down. Breaking a contract hurts me in the long run, though I will be more than happy to work with you afterward and compensate all of you for your time tonight."

"Is there no one else?" I said with my real body. I raised myself and looked around the room. "No one else is tired of the Teeth and all they do? The same deal I gave to Faultline I give to you."

"What about New Wave?" Multitool asked. "They're heroes too."

Lady Photon had a guilty look on her face as she stood up. "We have volunteered for the next Endbringer fight. My family has been cleared to temporarily fight the Simurgh."

"We will join you," Grue declared causing me to turn and look at him.

"Don't look so surprised," Pyrotechnical said. "We aren't afraid to get our hands dirty, and I'm sure we can come to an arrangement."

"Is there anyone else?" Queue asked. "Any other plans or volunteers." No one said anything. "Very well, then I think we should pick a place to defend and split up into groups."

-Lets go Sierra. I don't think we are going to get any more help- I said as we nodded to Phoenix and Epoch who stood up with us. I wrote a quick note and passed it to the waitress on our way out telling her a time and place to show up in the docks.

We got out and waited in the alley for the Undersiders.

"Well that could have gone better." Epoch said. "Bunch of cowards."

"I'm not surprised at the villains or the rogues, but I thought New Wave or Faultline would help," Phoenix replied.

"Can we trust the Undersiders?" Sierra asked.

"Grue will keep his word, but he doesn't do anything for free," I answered.

As if on cue the doors opened and the Undersiders moved out to stand opposite us. "You look a little mad considering you got some help," Grue said.

"She was expecting more volunteers," Pyrotechnical said. "Despite her actions she is a bit of an idealist. It's a little naïve but noble."

"Why does she even need help?" Golem asked quietly. "She took on the Empire by herself, but not the Teeth?"

"There is some kind of trick to her controlling her Lusus. She is limited in some way when fighting outside her territory. She probably spent a long time preparing that ambush and preprogramming her forces in how to move and fight without much input from her."

"Do you mind not talking about me when I am standing right here," I said with just a little venom in my voice. "I know you are not doing this out of the goodness of your hearts. What do you want?"

Grue stepped forward. "We want a slice of your territory."

"I do not have any territory."

"Oh, please be serious" Pyrotechnical said. "Anyone who matters knows that you are building up your forces and planning to take the docks. Short of your lab being hit, your victory over the ABB is inevitable. We just want some territory to call our own."

"Why?"

"Because it legitimizes us and improves our reputation in the city. You can use us as a buffer state against any group except the Teeth. The other gangs will probably be glad to not share a border with you." Grue said.

"And to answer the question in your head, the answer is yes." Pyrotechnical said. "We know what that big thing behind you is for, but I or Golem can destroy it easily while Grue lets us hide from the rest of your Lusus. We don't want a fight, but we can defend ourselves if we have too. But we are a far better option than the gangs and we don't hurt people."

"Except for the assholes," Imp said.

"And the badly dressed," Regent added. "Not everyone can dress as well as us."

Grue turned to look back at them before turning back. "Ignore them. So do we have a deal?" he asked holding out his hand.

-What do you think Sierra? I know I can deal with them using another virus from my body if they try to double cross us and Grue has fought the Teeth before-

-I say we take it. As long as they help us get Bryce back-

"You have a deal," I said as I shook his hand. "But if you double cross me, you will find out what the creative things a wetware tinker can do with people's nervous system."

"If you double cross me, you'll find out why people are afraid of the dark. Now how exactly are you going to track them?" Grue asked.

Author's note: To answer the inevitable questions. Yes, that is Lisa. Yes, she has the same power. Its just that she had to change names to hide from someone. Her background will be explored in Coil interlude at the end of the arc, but she is till paying the real pyrotechnical an outrageous sum to use her equipment and use her identity.


	15. 3-4

3-4

"You'd think that Grue would want to change the meeting spot," Phoenix said with a sigh.

The wreckage from the latest car bomb was taking forever to clear and we were stuck in traffic. Sierra, Phoenix and I were sitting in a circle while Epoch was laying down on his back, playing with the new cellphone I had made for him.

Several car bombs had gone off in the Empire's new territory the last few days, and we had the bad luck to be on the same road when the newest one went off almost an hour ago. Armsmaster and Kid Win had showed up to go over the site, but they had only been there for a few minutes before leaving.

"Do you think its Coil?" Sierra asked Epoch. Sierra and I had quickly discovered that while we had both studied the parahumans in the city, our knowledge paled in comparison to Epoch. He took he took a lot of pride in being a cape geek. So much so that he was wearing a shirt that literally said cape geek over the new armor I had gotten for him. The shirt seemed to be a combination of a joke and to irritate Phoenix, who looked annoyed whenever she looked at it.

Epoch snorted. "I seriously doubt it. The bombings don't fit his style. There was too much collateral damage and it seems too messy. Coil prefers quick and efficient attacks. The known 88 members being shot by a sniper in this area are definitely his work though. He is probably preparing to try and make a push to retake his lost territory from Kaiser."

"So who do you think is doing the bombings? Bakuda?" Sierra asked.

"Who knows," Phoenix said with another sigh as she fell back to stare at the ceiling. "Its not like Nazis don't have plenty of enemies." She held her hand up over her face and slowly started to stretch her fingers back and forth in boredom. "Does it really matter? There are a few more dead Nazis in the world and no one else got hurt."

I shifted my gaze to look at Phoenix and Epoch, who had been given a few serious upgrades thanks to my personal modifications and spending a rather large sum of money to update their costumes. I used professional armor designers Aristotle had suggested. Aristotle has assured me they could work quickly and discreetly if I paid them enough.

Epoch was wearing a sleek and advanced model of Tinker made armor that was made to greatly increase his toughness without impacting his speed. Since he could rewind all damage, making it too tough didn't seem very useful. The armorers had modeled and painted it to look like a tuxedo per his instructions. His helmet was much sleeker and finally looked like a futuristic robot head with the same design of a large black visor in the front but with the rest of the helmet colored gold. His bat was dropped for a well-made baton with a built in Taser.

I had respected his privacy and so had my spiders do most of the surgery using a scanner that let me examine him while keeping his face blacked out. Despite that there were still a few things I couldn't help but learn about him. He was a fifteen or sixteen year old male who spent a large amount of time staring at a computer screen based off of his eyesight. He had a very poor diet consisting mostly of junk food, and he was not in the best of shape considering he was a hero in Brockton Bay.

His body modifications were far more specialized than what I had given Sierra. He wanted to be as tough and strong as I could make him without changing his shape too much. Overly large muscles would be too noticeable in his civilian identity. I had complied with his wishes and made his bones to be as tough as possible, and he was significantly heavier and denser than he used to be. Custom built muscles were grafted on and designed to resist blunt force trauma while being compacted to keep them from being too large. He didn't seem to care too much about the muscles, but had been very excited when I told him about his new skin and the decreased sleep requirements.

He was noticeably more ripped with muscle, but his body did not look unusual to a health nut. Besides increased reflexes and a thought communicator, he had an implant designed to help regulate his new muscles, since I had to remove the natural limiter in his brain to make them work. As a side effect he could reduce or eliminate his pain on command. While he could rewind damage, he still vividly felt any and all pain from injuries so he very much appreciated that upgrade.

In contrast to Epoch, Phoenix did not want an advanced Tinker made armor. She expected to still die occasionally in a fight, and she wanted something that was easier to replace. She now wore a white cloth looking armor that had apparently been made by a fashion designer. It looked more like a heavy sweater with a high collar than body armor, but it was guaranteed to be very bullet resistant. She had kept the bandana that covered her face instead of a new mask, since she said she had become used to it.

Unfortunately I hadn't been able to upgrade Phoenix since her body structure was so bizarre. Her cells split and decayed at such an incredible rate that I hadn't been able to keep a sample long enough to experiment with. I had taken extensive preparations for surgery to try and keep her from disappearing but it didn't work. Opening her up for surgery under anesthesia made her power count it as lethal damage and she disappeared in a bright light.

She had sounded dejected and little depressed when she gave me a call almost an hour later confirming that modifications would probably not work. I had an idea to use a special prion infection to temporarily disable her power, but I didn't want to risk it untested.

Thankfully, it wasn't a total loss. I had come up with a new drug to significantly slow down the decay of her body, which she was very thankful for. It was derived from a custom made fungus I made after getting inspired from studying regular old penicillin.

I had given her instructions on how to make it and a sample of the fungus so she could grow her own. My best estimate was that she would only have to kill herself once every month or two when the decay became too advanced. So despite the fact that she wouldn't be getting any physical upgrades, she seemed to still be in a good mood. She had only insulted Epoch twice in the last hour.

"What do you think Faust?" Sierra asked awakening me from my thoughts. I almost replied using my implant before remembering that Phoenix didn't have one. I didn't want to be rude so I made an effort to speak out loud when around her.

"It isn't Bakuda," I said. "She is more than capable of making normal explosives, but she likes to show off. She'd use some weird and exotic bomb to attack and she wouldn't care as about causalities. The burn patterns don't look natural. It could be a cape who uses fire."

"Like Pyrotechnical?" Sierra asked.

"There are waaay too many fire capes in this city," Epoch said. "Gisht from the Empire, Othala can give someone pyrokinesis, Spitfire is Faultline's heavy firepower and now Pyrotechnical. Could be any of them."

I shifted my legs a little since they were asleep from sitting cross-legged for so long. I knew I should have brought Yawn. I pulled up the drone feed from Sierra again to look at the road. There was still broken glass everywhere, and the burned out husk of a car, but there was surprisingly little damage around it. After hacking into the traffic cameras, it seemed like the car just randomly just self-combusted while turning at the stop light.

"What is PHO saying?" Phoenix said to Epoch sitting up. "Do something useful instead of chatting up your fake girlfriend."

"I'll have you know we talk all the time, and things are getting pretty serious. Don't be jealous just because no one wants to date your stretch Armstrong ass."

"What is PHO saying?" I interject to keep them from arguing again.

"The popular theory on PHO is it's someone that supported the coup attempt on Kaiser and are pissed they lost," Epoch said as he moved the phone away from his face to look at me. "A few of the stupider ones are blaming Faust since most of the casualties are supporters of Kaiser."

"How many are thinking that?" I asked.

"Not that many. I even checked a few racist forums that 88 members go to on other sites and they all say it doesn't fit your pattern. You never kill anyone."

"Well at least most people aren't blaming this on me. The only good press I have gotten had been the Trio's latest newsletter praising me. Though I think a grand total of 64 people, well 65 with me, actually read it."

"Even a little progress is progress," Phoenix said as she scooted next to me. "Don't let a few assholes get you down. More people will come around after we kick the Butcher's Teeth in."

I giggle despite myself. "I'd make a meat pun, but I'd probably Butcher it."

"At least it wasn't a sausage joke, those are the werst."

We look at each other and start laughing.

"Puns really?" Epoch chided. "Didn't you say my baseball puns were lame?"

"They were a little funny the first time you said them, but not he 40th time you said it," Phoenix informed him.

We made some more small talk, and eventually traffic finally started to move again. We were going to be late, but it couldn't be helped. We had agreed to meet the Undersiders on neutral ground for our meeting before the Pit Fight. They refused to meet in the docks. So we agreed to meet in the same building I had first met Grue.

We had been in contact with Grue and Pyrotechnical through private messaging to work on our alliance. One of the tenants was that we would share more of what our powers were capable of.

Grue had admitted that his darkness could interfere with electronics and other signals. He had used that to great effect when robbing places in the past. He would spread his darkness throughout a building and no alarms would go off until he was long gone.

Golem could embed his limbs into a surface in order to create a larger version some distance away form a similar surface. The effect worked more slowly the larger he worked. All the plates on his costume were made of different surfaces so he could be flexible when fighting.

Regent was a minor Brute and Blaster. He could affect people's nervous systems by causing misfires. He could work on one person at a distance, or switch it so his power affected everyone very close to him all at once. He was also stronger and tougher than he looked, and Grue admitted that he didn't think my virus for the Pit Fight would affect him.

Pyrotechnical had been easy to look up since she used to work for Toybox, and Aristotle had been able to discover more about her history. There were scattered reports that suggested that her attempts to go solo after leaving Toybox had not gone well. She had been arrested attempting to rob an armored car, and then had the bad luck to be in the same jail where a target of the Jamestowner was. She barely survived and most thought she had retired due to the poisoning's aftereffects. But Grue managed to convince her to come to Brockton to work with him. She was a Tinker with a high Blaster rating and a specialty in advanced guns and pyrotechnics.

Overall, I was reasonably confident I could take them in a fight. Any virus I made might not affect Pyrotechnical in her suit or Regent's immunity, but everyone else should go down. It wouldn't be much of a fight if Epoch and Phoenix were there to assist me. So while I was guarded against an ambush, I wasn't too worried.

After a few minutes we finally arrived in the same neighborhood where the Empire had expanded and I had first met Phoenix and Epoch. It looked much rougher during the day with bars on all the windows, graffiti everywhere, and a few sketchy looking people sitting around.

Sierra dropped us off in front of the same alley, before driving off in an ever-widening circle. She would periodically increase the distance to see how far Imp's range was with her power. I had done a little work to my implants to hopefully counter stranger affects at least some of the time, but Sierra warning me where to attack would work just as well.

We walked quickly into the alley and found the door without any issues. Epoch walked in first since he could rewind himself in case of an ambush. The building was pretty much like how I remembered it with graffiti on the walls, melted down candles, and a musty smell. It didn't look abandoned from the outside, but I suppose that was the point. Judging by the smell, and the dirty mattress piled on the far wall, at least a few homeless people occasionally slept here. Epoch had confirmed that Grue occasionally traded information from a few homeless who worked as lookouts in return for money.

Grue and the Undersiders were waiting for us in the next room. Grue was standing behind a large table with a large piece of paper taped to it. Pyrotechnical was not wearing her helmet, but instead was wearing a black and purple mask that fit to the counters of her face which broke out into a confident grin when she saw us. Her black hair was cut extremely short, and she had on a single large earing that to my eyes looked like some kind of explosive device.

Golem was sitting on a large stone looking hand that had come out of the ground. He had cupped it to be more comfortable as a chair and he stood up as soon as we came in. Regent had taken his coat off and draped it on the ground where he had been sitting. Bitch was with her dogs on large leashes on the opposite side of Grue and she had on an angry scowl. The S.C.I.O.N. sent me a warning reminding me of Imp.

-Sierra?-

-She is twenty feet to the right of you at three o'clock and her shoulder should be there- she said marking a spot of my HUD.

I walked casually toward the empty space and put my hand the spot Sierra had indicated. I didn't feel anything, but I put my face down to where eye level should be. "I will make you a deal. If you don't use your power to affect my senses, I won't cripple yours. Deal?" I said.

Imp appeared right in front of me, and I was proud of the fact that I hadn't forgotten about her. Was she always this small?

Her eyes had a look of fear that I could see through her mask. "Fuck, Deal," she said as she walked to stand next to the Undersiders.

-Any changes?-

-Nope. Your mind reads normal-

"You couldn't pick a different spot considering the bombings going on?" Phoenix asked as she walked past Epoch and me to stand in front of the table.

"The Empire does not dictate to me where I may go," Grue proclaimed.

"Besides these aren't bombings," Pyrotechnical said as she walked around the table with her hands out showing she wasn't armed. "It was definitely someone who can mess with fire in a parahuman sort of way. It also wasn't me, FYI."

The S.C.I.O.N. scanned her and based off her heartbeat, eye movements, breathing, and micro expressions, she was telling the truth. "She isn't lying," I said.

"Oh you can tell when people are telling the truth? Armsmaster has a similar set up in his helmet," she said. "Care to compare notes? I happen to be a tad decent at reading body language myself."

"Later, Pyro. For now let's get started," Grue said gesturing to the map.

"This is a detailed map made from knowledge of prior pit fights. I paid a pretty penny to Uber for help making this. Despite how chaotic the Teeth are pit fights are usually organized the same way. In the center is the main stage overlooking the pit where the fighting takes place. On the sides are various booths where they sell stolen good or product. Near the entrance is where they usually put Squealer's Truck-a-Saurus rip off that provides the cloaking field. Captives are usually held in an underground room that the Butcher herself makes right next to the pit."

"What kind of defenses are we looking at?" Golem asked.

"Simple chain link fencing that is topped by razor wire surrounds the entire site," Grue said. "Armed patrols in pick up trucks move around the perimeter occasionally but that doesn't last as the night goes on. The security gets worse as the night goes on and they get progressively more wasted."

"It's actually pretty easy to get into," Pyrotechnical said as she gestured to the front entrance. "There is only one way in or out, but no one checks if you should be there or not if you look the part. There will only be a few guards, and there are far too many people to remember since Teeth from all over usually show up to these things. As long as we are dressed like Teeth and have a few trophies or colored wristbands, no one will look twice."

"Then why haven't the heroes broken it up before?" Phoenix asked.

"Because they can't find it," Golem said sitting back down on his hand.

"If we can find it, then anyone can find it," Regent said from the side. "No offense intended greenie," he said as he nodded his crown in respect.

"They're afraid to fight her," Bitch said with a look of contempt on her face.

"Well they are a bit busy with the whole Endbringer thing," Epoch said. "The Butcher also sends a few people to cause distractions in the city."

I committed the map to memory with Sierra taking a picture. Imp moved next to Regent and looked at Golem's chair. "Hey, don't hog all the chairs. I could use a hand. Make me one rocky," she said with a gesture.

Golem looked to Grue, who shook his head. "I told her not to mess with Faust. No need to make more. They'll survive."

Imp turned and gave Grue the finger. "You heard our fearless leader," she said before surprising Golem by hopping up on his lap. A moment later Regent joined her by hopping on his other leg.

"I want a Barbie dream house Santa," Imp crooned.

"I'm not greedy like her, I just want peace on earth," Regent said as he and Imp started snickering. Golem looked uncomfortable in his armor, but didn't move or say anything.

"Quit picking on Golem," Pyrotechnical said.

"I will be fine," he said. "They don't weigh anything and I will not throw a girl to the ground. Now how does the your bomb work?" he said at me changing the subject.

"It spreads very rapidly in the air and disables anyone who contracts it almost instantly. It makes you so sick you can't walk, causes graphic hallucinations with the severity based off of what you have in your system, looses your bowels, gives you a hypersensitivity to pain. It wears off in a week. Usually."

Regent whistled. "By the golden, naked, idiot, you don't fuck around."

I ignored him and pointed to the main stage in the center of the map. "A central location is the best point to set it off. Once we position it we can set it off at anytime. The Butcher will probably not be affected thanks to the seventh's power, but everyone else will go down. We should delay setting it off until most of the Teeth and their parahumans are nearby."

"I know a way to get inside," Grue said. "The Teeth have a tribute system with the Butcher. If we show up carrying huge amounts of booze or drugs and say it is a tribute, no one will touch it. The Butcher waits until the pit fight starts before letting the Teeth use her private stash. She kills anyone who tries to sample anything before she allows it."

"You can place the bomb in a case and no one will look twice at it depending on its size" Pyrotechnical said.

"What about the captives?" Golem asked. "Your virus sounds nasty. How are you planning to inoculate them?"

"I have a custom creature that I can hide on my person. It is a dragonfly and mosquito hybrid that is small enough to get close and inject them all. They will be fine once the bomb goes off."

"I really want to get a picture of that. It sounds cool." Epoch said.

"So you said the security sucks right?" Phoenix said to Pyrotechnical. "So lets say we all sneak in without anybody noticing, then what?"

"We have two targets to hit for the attack to work," Grue said motioning to Squealer's vehicle on the map. "Now, the whole site is under some kind of field that is made by this thing. It makes it so no one can see or hear anything until you are close to the pit fight and keeps people's cell phones from working. We want to call in the white hats for backup we need to disable or destroy it. Just showing up and running to report it wouldn't work since we won't find it until we are almost next to it. The captives will be long gone before backup gets there."

"Squealer also has a giant helicopter thing armed with a lot of guns we also need to destroy," Epoch said. If we don't disable it, the Butcher could use it to chase us down."

"Regent can take care of that," Grue said. "He has a contact in the Teeth who assists Squealer by getting her materials."

"You have contacts?" I said a little skeptical.

"Oh ye of little faith. I have plenty of contacts. Golem isn't the only one with tricks up their sleeves," he said punching Golem's shoulder. "Give me a day to….contact him and I can get you to where their vehicles are. We plant a few of Pyro's charges and set them off at the same time as Faust's bomb."

"The second target is Hemorrhagia," Pyrotechnical said. "All of the captives will be under the effects of her blood. It puts them into a stupor so no one tries to escape, but she has to be near them for it too work. We knock her out or kill her and the effect wears off. Can you handle that Imp?" she asked her.

"Isn't she a Brute? Can I stop her with a knife?"

"I can give you a injector that works without a needle, or a gas mask to put over her mouth that will take care of her," I said.

"Why not just have Imp get to the hostages and take them out one at a time to an exit?" Epoch asked.

Pyrotechnical shook her head. "It would take too long to move them all and the place is going to be so packed that just moving through the crowd is going to take forever. Inoculating them in case something goes wrong is a good idea, but we should probably move the hostages before the bomb goes off. Otherwise the Butcher might figure out what is happening and try to kill them out of spite."

"I think I have an idea for getting them out," I said. "I came up with it after you told me about your powers. The pit fight isn't spread out over too large of an area. I have several Lusus ready to go that are designed to dig through dirt really fast. With Golems help I think we could make good time digging. We show up in a large truck, bring out the tribute to the Butcher, and start digging underneath it. We dig a tunnel right to the hostages and lead them out. Once they are safe we detonate the bomb."

Grue looked at Golem who was still being sat on by Regent and Imp. "Can you use your powers to dig a tunnel?"

"It shouldn't be too hard. If her Lusus can clear up some room I think I could make a decent sized tunnel quickly. But I'll have no idea where I'm going underground."

"Lethe can guide you," I said. She will be providing ops for this attack and can direct my Lusus for me."

Pyrotechnical's face scrunched in concentration. "Depends on how fast your things can work, but I think he could do it in ten maybe fifteen minutes."  
"Lets not forget about the Butcher" Epoch said. "Faust just said she wouldn't be affected like everyone else."

"We can just fight her," Bitch said.

"Could we beat her if we all ganged up on her?" Imp asked.

"It wouldn't be an easy fight and she probably won't be alone," Pyrotechnic said. "Changers like Animos, Night, and Fog might still be standing thanks to their powers. There could also be new parahuman recruits that wouldn't be affected."

"It would be better if we make a getaway instead of fighting. The agreement was rescuing the hostages, not fighting the Butcher," Grue said looking at me.

"Okay so I think we have the makings of a plan," Pyrotechnical said. "We divide up equally so every group is split between us. One group will disable Squealer's vehicles. I have a few explosives that will do the trick and can be set off remotely. Another group accompanies Faust to deliver the bomb and inoculates the hostages in case we have to blow it early. Imp can take out Hemorrhagia, and then we all meet up and evacuate with the hostages through the tunnel. Once they are hidden we set off the bombs at the right time for maximum effect, call the heroes, and everyone leaves."

"There should be plenty of stolen cars there as well. If the trucks aren't big enough, we can take the rest of the hostages in those," Grue said. "Does anyone have any other concerns?"

"I have one more thing to add with the Butcher," I said as everyone eyes turned to me. "It isn't well known, but the Butcher has a hidden power that I have discovered. She can somehow read the memories of people who are near her. I am not sure how it works but most likely anyone in a scared or emotional state toward her can be read. As long as we don't get too close to the Butcher we should be fine."

Pyrotechnical's face took on a look of curiosity that made me think she was going to say something, but she remained silent. Her stare made me a little uncomfortable and paranoid for reasons I couldn't explain. There was absolutely no way she could know that I was a Butcher or see my face, but I activated the mask protocol just in case.

"I have a concern," Golem said. "Grue has told me that he and Epoch have already seen each other's faces, but I am not comfortable with Faust knowing what I look like."

"I have something for that," I said bringing out my small cooler. "It is a skin like material derived from a fungus I created. You place it over your face and I can do a little surgery to mold it to look like someone else. Best of all, it will remember the face in the future. I already put a few faces in. Any volunteers?" I said a little evilly.

"Oh me!" Regent said jumping off of Golem and running straight up to me with no hesitation or concern, which irritated me for some reason.

I opened up the cooler and picked up the skin that was about the size of a face and put I in Regent's hands.

"How does it work?

"Just take off your mask, turn around so I don't see it, and place it on your face. It should take care of the rest."

He walked up so he was facing Golem and Imp with his back to the rest of us and dramatically put it on. I couldn't see their faces, but Golem and Imp reacted with a little shock since it did work pretty fast. I had gotten the idea after watching an old spy movie with super realistic latex masks. He turned around now looking like a man in his twenties who was a heavy drug user. Though the effect was ruined by the look in his eyes.

"Quick anyone have a mirror," he said looking around. He walked to look at his reflection in the mirror. " How do I look?"

"Like a slightly more handsome idiot," Grue called out.

"Fuck you too, Grue" he said with a laugh as he looked on his face. "This is too cool."

"Try to refrain from poking it too much as it is still very malleable."

"Really?" he said with a grin as he looked back. "In that case let me make a few adjustments." He turned around and grunted as he push part of his face in before turning back around to show that he had given himself a new cartoonish chiseled jaw which everyone laughed at but me thanks to the mask protocol.

"You have an ass for a chin," Imp said cracking up.

-Can I have one of those?- Epoch asked through his implant

-Of course, though they rot very quickly-

"Okay," Pyrotechnical said looking back at the map. "We have a plan but we need to make some arrangements and Golem needs to practice digging. Can you take care of the vehicles and transportation?" she asked me.

"Yes. I can have it ready in two days."

"Good, that is just about how much time we need," Grue said. "We will meet in two days back here and leave around dark. The pit fight won't officially begin until there is confirmation of an Endbringer sighting. We all do our jobs and we will get out of this just find. Afterward we will discuss territory. Agreed?"

I looked at Epoch and Phoenix who looked back at me before nodding.

"Agreed."

* * *

We all met with the Undersiders just as planned with everything prepared. I was taking two large commercial trucks filled with tainted alcohol, and poisonous mushrooms that had large hidden compartments in the back. One hid Bitch, her dogs, and Sierra. The other held my latest two Lusus built to dig quickly that I had made out of worm and mole DNA for the claws.  
The Lusus had taken quite a bit of work to make them flexible enough to fold up into the relatively small compartment and they looked a little ridiculous in design, but they could do the job and assist Golem when the time came. The virus bomb was ready to go, and hidden in a large crate. My latest cross between a mosquito and a dragonfly was hidden in my hair, and a dozen infiltrators disguised like normal Teeth members were ready to help unload all the material as a tribute to the Butcher. Every spare space in the compartment was filled with my mechanical spiders since they were much more autonomous than the Lusus were.

Grue, Regent, and Epoch were part of the group to disable Squealers vehicles. Phoenix, Pyrotechnical wearing on of my flesh masks, and I would be delivering the virus bomb and inoculating the hostages. Imp would go in with us and disable Hemorrhagia. Bitch and Sierra would be waiting in the truck with Sierra directing the diggers with Golem. The T1 anti Grue prototype was there as back up in case Bitch tried anything. I had a few ideas to try instead of echolocation for future models, but there wasn't enough time to design and build them.

While the Simurgh was difficult to predict at the best of times, everyone was saying that she was expected to touch down some time in the next few hours. While I had a few ideas for using Butcher hybrid clones to help fight the Endbringers, I had decided to never fight the Simurgh. My background and history made me a poor candidate to fight her safely. Not to mention, that the last time a Butcher ran into the Simurgh, they almost destroyed the city. I shuddered to think about what would happen if she drove me crazy like Sphere, or Mouse Protector.

All the girls were in my truck, while all the boys, and the Lusus were in the other. It was a little tight with all the booze but it wasn't that bad. Sierra and Phoenix sat next to me while Pyrotechnical, Bitch, and Imp sat apart with Bitch's dogs. No one was saying much. Pyrotechnical had a little map out looking over my notes I had made on tracking my bugs that followed the pheromones in the Teeth's drugs.

They had been very useful up to a point, when their range limits became more obvious. But Pyrotechnical had taken my data and was cross-referencing it with past Teeth pit fights and was leading us to the most likely area it was so we didn't have to spend hours searching. I swept my gaze over to Sierra who was seated next to the T1 and her body image looking a little nervous in contrast to Phoenix who seemed relaxed.

-Are you okay Sierra?- I asked privately. Thanks to a new earpiece Phoenix could listen on to our thought conversations, but I wanted to let Sierra talk without having to worry about keeping things secret.

-Yeah, just a little nervous and scared. A lot of things can go wrong. What if Bryce is hurt or worse?-

-Just try to be positive. Anything short of death I can fix, and the virus can take out most of the Teeth at any time.-

-I know. Look just in case I don't have a chance. I Just wanted to say thank you for everything-

-You're welcome but don't talk like that.-

Pyrotechnical took that moment to walk slowly over to us. She wasn't wearing her armor or any of her weapons that looked too Tinker tech but her armor was hidden in the other truck. She still rubbed me the wrong way for a reason I couldn't explain.

"What are you all doing over here, looking so gloomy?" she replied with a smile. "We've got a solid plan, they don't know we're coming, and worse comes to worse we blow the bomb early and only get most of the Teeth."

"Are you really so confident?" Phoenix asked. "A lot can go wrong when the Butcher is involved."

"Too true, but she isn't invincible and she's crazy, which is a big weakness. Just wanted to tell you guys that I think we should be there any moment," she said to Lethe pointing at a map.

Sierra opened up the drones view from overhead and all I could see for miles was dark forest in every direction. I knew that they had some kind of stealth field up, but it was still a bit of a shock when the quiet and ominous dark woods suddenly became filled with noise and light.

It looked kind of like a demented circus or carnival, with cars parked in fields and a line of people waiting to get in. Fires were burning in every direction and a swarm of people moved to and fro inside. Tall poles covered in torches circled the entire thing like something from a medieval fair. From the poles hung various items and junk.

It took me a moment to realize they were trophies of victories or conquests. Nazi symbols or flags, dead animals like dogs or birds, clothing including bras, business suits, cop hats, broken makeshift weapons, and even what looked scalps.

What struck me were just how many Teeth there were down there. I was expecting only a thousand at most, but there were easily ten times that number. I felt a little sickened that so many had joined the Teeth in their depraved ways.

-There's so many- Sierra said.

"Radio check," Grue said.

We all send in affirmatives and Sierra moved the trucks toward the ad hoc parking lot. There was no order or rows to all the cars parked. It was a half hazard miss match of vehicles, so we picked a spot in the middle that was relatively hidden from view.

"Golem, is this too far for you?" I asked over the hidden radio in my ear.

"I think this should be fine. Hold on using your pets until I dig a little room."  
The network drones flew overhead and Sierra connected to them with her back suddenly going rigid. She had practiced controlling them very diligently over the last twenty-four hours. I felt a small shudder and went on alert. But the drones didn't show anything.

"Sorry about that, "Golem said over the radio. "Made a fist too close the surface. The hidden door in the bottom is open and there is a hole down. Give me a few seconds to make it bigger before you send in the Lusus Lethe."

I turned to Sierra who nodded at me.

With that I moved the back doors opened and I had the infiltrators start packing the tribute onto wheeled carts from both trucks down the ramps. We all moved into a large circle to look at each other while the Lusus kept working.

The Teeth understood and respected strength alone so I had designed my false faces for us to look dangerous. It would make it easier to move through the crowd, and help to hide the fact that we did not belong there. Epoch was wearing an ugly older man's face that was covered in bruises, and a see through muscle shirt to show off his new body. Phoenix and Pyrotechnical were wearing older and heavily pierced faces, that were similar enough to look like sisters and Pyro was openly carrying guns, while Phoenix had her long knives out. Grue and Regent were wearing hooded jackets and heavy work gloves while wearing faces that I had modeled after random background extras in a TV show I had just watched.

I had gone out of my way to appear dangerous and a little crazy. My new face was covered in scars. I wore a top that showed off a bit more skin that I was used to, but that was to show the tattoos that looked like they had been partially burned on, and I had covered myself in knives. From my waist I hung several cloned scalps and covered my arms in red bands.

"Okay, everyone stick to the plan and we will all get out of this alright," Grue said and with that we left with the Lusus pushing the heavy carts while we walked besides them. Imp had already disappeared and the only reason I noticed was the S.C.I.O.N. reminding me. Overhead the drones zoomed in and I opened access to my eyes to Sierra.

Loud music was being played from speakers even in the parking lot and it smelled like someone was burning garbage. There were a variety of genres that mixed together in a weird racket. People were shouting to be heard over the noise, and were the Teeth milling around in groups as the line moved forward. All of them were wearing bands of colors on their clothes or arms.

-What do the bands mean?- Sierra asked.

-I only know what a few of them mean. Yellow are tests of courage, red for bloodshed, and black for near death, with different symbols meaning different things- I said.

We approached as a group with the Lusus behind us. Grue and I took the lead and walked to the front of the line like we belonged.

There were only two guards who were slouched on chairs, letting people in. They grinned as they took a look at our long line of beer and supplies. They waved us and the Lusus lined up. They looked at our bands, and gave each of us a green one that I had never seen before. One of them opened up a box of beer and took two cans.

"You selling or giving?" he asked.

"It's all a gift from Skidmark as tribute to the Butcher," Grue said. "Where should we put it?"

"Tributes go near the main stage," he said with a sigh as he put the beer back. He pulled out a spray can and started spraying the boxes with a big red S money symbol.

Inside was a chaotic mass of bodies. The area by the entrance was extremely crowded with everyone packed in. But the Lusus pushed the carts hard enough to knock people down to the floor with the carts to slowly clear us a path.

No one seemed to care, and it seemed to be the norm among the Teeth. The smells and sounds all around us made things a little distracting. A few groups with weapons looked like they wanted to try something for our stuff but stopped when they saw the spray painted S and gave us some room to pass.

In no time at all we managed to get close to the center where a huge hole had been dug that was surrounded by a high fence. Behind it was a huge screen that I assumed showed what was happening from in the pit. Nearby were two huge piles of stuff marked with the same dollar S symbol and multiple S's connected to each other hat I assume represented Spree. Skidmark's pile was significantly bigger than Sprees and was full of alcohol, money, pills, and what looked like paper grocery bags.

Several looked at it and us eagerly but no one got close. We dumped all of our stuff nearby, and I carefully maneuvered the cart with the bomb in the center. There wasn't any wind blowing, so almost everyone in here was going to be caught in the blast. I turned and looked at the Teeth hooting and hollering with a sneer. We left soon after with the Lusus forming a protective circle around Phoenix, Pyrotechnical, and I.

"Checking in. Status?" I asked with the Lusus blocking me from view.

"Bitch and I are scanning the place now and have found where they are keeping the prisoners. It's behind and under the pit but you can't reach it without going around the side. Golem is making good progress and I'm directing him there. Current estimated time is twenty minutes to reach there. No sign of the Butcher though."

"This is Grue checking in. Sorry, Epoch got a little distracted by the orgy in front of the tower. Met with Regent's contact and are heading to the tower now."

-Imp?- I asked Sierra.

-She is still with you-

We walked slowly to the sides of the event where people were selling stuff like a giant garage sale. Everywhere I looked I saw guns, knives, a variety of drugs, and weird junk. We walked like we had a place to be and the Lusus looked tough enough that only a few drunken people tried something. I was merciless with anyone who tried to push us. The Lusus would gang on anybody and attack from multiple angles.

The pit fight couldn't have been going on for that long, but there was already trash everywhere. All around us people were starting to party early in small groups that laughed, drank, and danced. I wrinkled my nose in disgust at the couples having open sex near the edge. A particular vicious fight had broken out between two groups, with several limp forms already on the ground as the crowd cheered.

We pushed forward as fast as we could before getting stuck behind a large and growing crowd that was in front of a stage that had been put up. A bunch of women and one girl were prostituting themselves to the crowd that was hooting and hollering at them. They would put back on various clothes and costumes of popular heroes before stripping and doing it all over again. The women had the look of Teeth. Their skin and hair showed signs of heavy drug use, and they were covered in tattoos and scars. They were all covered in sweat and one of them took a hit of something before starting to strip again.

The teenage girl on the side was a different story.

She was dark-haired and her makeup looked like it had been applied by someone who had never worn any before. She tried to jump off the stage but a few Teeth brandished knives and make obscene gestures at her. She looked terrified. Considering her age, and her lack of colored bands, he was definitely another captive.

The S.C.I.O.N. sent me a warning for my anger and helped to focus my memory when I saw the girls face. I actually recognized her. She was Charlotte, one of the girls from Winslow. White-hot rage went through my head as I saw the crowd laughing at her scared expression. These fuckers were getting off on this?

-Faust, what is going on? Your brain just sent me a warning about a…..oh.- Sierra said as she saw through my eyes.

With a thought the Lusus began to form up into a line. They were unarmed, thought they were far tougher and stronger than normal human beings.

"Hey what are you doing?" Pyrotechnical said as she grabbed my arm.

I turned to look back at her and she must have seen something in my eyes because she immediately let go.

"I'm going to help her."

"There are over a hundred people you are going to help tonight. The Butcher and the rest of the parahumans haven't gotten here yet. You make a scene and they might not show. I feel bad for her, but think of the greater good."

I turned and very carefully moved closer to her with my face inches from hers literally shaking and the S.C.I.O.N. screaming in my ear. "Fuck the greater good. If I have to set it off early so be it. Now either help me or get out of my way."

"Okay, Okay, relax. Let me think. Okay, here use these," she said pulling out a bag and wads of cash. "Just buy her."

I grabbed it out of her hands and handed it to the infiltrator that looked the biggest. The others formed a wedge around it and pushed to give it a path to the stage. A few people tried to protest and I had the Lusus immediately hit them.

It got up on the stage and pulled a struggling Charlotte over it's shoulder. "Whoever brought her, here is your fucking money," I had it say as it through the bags into the crowd who started to fight over it.

The Lusus formed a circle around them and pushed through the crowd. A very stupid guy pulled a knife and I had the Lusus overpower him. He screamed as I broke every bone in his dominant hand slowly.

A few people hooted and hollered as we walked to a more secluded spot behind a booth, and I made sure to memorize their faces for later. Pyrotechnical hadn't said a word and looked a little pensive as she walked beside us.

The Lusus put her down, and she immediately shrank back. Her eyes looked around and looked like she was about to bolt.

"Relax," Phoenix said with comforting look in her eyes. "We are not going to do anything to hurt you. We came to rescue you."

She looked like she didn't believe her, and she wiped at her makeup over her eyes and I felt my rage start to build again as I noticed it was covering a black eye. I moved forward and she flinched.

-Faust. She is scared of you. Remember what you look like-

I sighed and initiated the mask protocol to have my face show concern since I was too angry to do it myself. I walked forward slowly and looked at her in the face.

"We are not joking. We are heroes here to break up this disgusting cesspool, and we are here to rescue you and everyone else."

"Oh god," she sobbed as she tackled me in a big hug and tightened which surprised me. "Thank you.

I moved the Lusus back to give us a wider berth. "Its okay," I said as I returned the hug. "You're safe."

She wiped way her tears and stepped back to look at me. "What's going on? Who are you?

"I am Faust," I said and I felt the first honest feeling of pride and a renewed determination at being a hero when her face showed a look of relief and hope.

"Look, we're going to attack this thing in a few minutes but we are going to free all the hostages first. So I need you to move, try to be quiet and keep close okay. All these men around you are with me and they won't hurt you. I promise."

She got a little teary eyed again and I waited for a few minutes for her to gain her composure. Phoenix had a strange look on her face as she looked at her and had a dark look in her eyes.

Charlotte stood next to me as we headed back into the press of bodies with the Lusus again forming around us. Charlotte squeezed in close to me and I struggled to contain my temper at how scared she was.

 _Just a few more minutes, just a few more minutes. Than I will make them regret the day they were born._

-Sierra, do you see a quicker way to the captives?-

-There is an opening to the right of you guys. Is she okay?-

-A little scared and bruised but she is intact. Physically anyway- I said as the S.C.I.O.N. gave me a reading of her expressions and body language.

-Estimated time from Golem is ten more minutes.-

We walked carefully until we came near a large half formed ramp that went underground where four men with guns stood in front. We kept our distance and I sent my newest bug Lusus to leave my hair and fly over their heads and through the small window fitted with bars.

They went in carefully and I saw long rows of cots with people filling most of them. They all had glassy eyes and weren't moving. Looking around I saw a woman sitting cross-legged and wearing a large mask shaped to look like a heart.

-Sierra I've found them. Inform Imp that the man in the front has the key and to take out the guards and to wait until the tunnel is done before taking out Hemmorghia. I don't want them to make a scene and get noticed yet-

I moved the bugs around to get a look at all their faces and to count how many there were when I spotted Sierra's brother.

-It's Bryce! Is he okay?-

I moved the Lusus around to get a better look. He looked more haggard then the picture Sierra had of him, but he looked fine.-He's fine-I said as the Lusus started to inject everyone. -Tell everyone we are ready to go as soon as Golem gets here.-

We stood still and waited with the S.C.I.O.N. helping to keep me from being too anxious. I was just about ready to relax when when the lights and music suddenly shut off. There was an initial moment of panic before all the Teeth suddenly started to cheer and howl. I could see Charlotte start to freak out and I put my hand on her shoulder whispered that everything was going be all right.

-What's happening?- Sierra asked.

-The Butcher is about to start the pit fight. This is good; we will catch all their parahumans in the blast radius. Tell Imp she can start doing her thing. Everyone will be too distracted to tell if there is more noise by the captives.-

The lights on the main stage suddenly went on and with a loud bang the Butcher appeared. The crowd started to cheer as her face was projected on the screen. After awhile two more shapes came on to the stage dragging a large ornate chair to the center and I recognized Spree and Skidmark.

Skidmark was wearing his traditional outfit, a dark black and skintight costume with a large red bite mark painted on it. He had a strangely normal face that didn't go with his costume. Well combed hair, glasses that made him look like more of an accountant than a gang leader, and he wasn't wearing a mask or a cape. A large and prominent brand was on his cheek that seemed to cover up some kind of burn. He extruded this weird confidence as he finished dragging over the throne for the Butcher. When he saw his face go up on the screen he smiled and I saw that all his teeth were sharpened to a point just like the Butchers.

The Butcher looked much the same, though she had on a new head on the large pole on her back that I couldn't recognize. She sat down on the throne close the edge with her hands on her knees.

"Hello my precious teeth," she said.  
The crowd started to scream and holler like madmen. They stomped there feet and yelled like she was a rock star. She put her hands up and the crows instantly quieted down. She spoke with a loudness that wasn't natural. Her voice was surprisingly sweet and seductive though it had a weird undercurrent to it.

"Welcome to the Pit Fight. Tonight is a celebration and I want you fuck, to make some people bleed, and to tear some shit up. But first, we have some business to take care of."

The crowd started to yell again as spotlights rested on Spree and Skidmark. The Butcher nodded her head at Spree and a man with a shaved head walked out behind him with a microphone to stand in front of Spree.

"What the hell are they doing?" Phoenix asked.

"Its something the Teeth do to psych themselves up," Pyrotechnical said. "They brag about their strength and accomplishments. The Butcher decides who becomes the leader here in Brockton, but she usually goes with how the gang leans. It's sort of like a weird election and they are making their cases to lead."

The man next to spree walked forward to the center of the stage. "Hello you crazy motherfuckers! You know who this man is. He's the one man army. The riot on demand. A man who has fought for the Teeth from one side of this shitty world to the next. Lets hear it for Spree!"

The crowd cheered but not nearly as enthusiastically as it had for the Butcher. I was just about finished injecting everybody when Imp spoke.

"The Blood Bitch is dealt with. I didn't have a choice, she was going to go outside."

"We are finished," Grue said. "As soon as your bomb goes off, we will set off the explosives."

"Golem is almost there," Sierra said.

The man with shaved head kept walking back and forth across the stage like some kind of demented motivational speaker as he spoke and pumped his hands up.

"When Spree was warlord we fucked the heroes, we fucked the cops, we fucked the Empire, and we're goanna fuck that snake cunt who thinks she owns the docks."

He paused as the crowd cheered some more. He turned and pointed to Skidmark.

"Skidmark doesn't fight. He's a merchant not a warrior. We need someone with some balls, who isn't afraid to bring the fight to others. What's Skitmark going to do? Buy the Empire and Accord off? Let me hear it for Spree!"

The crowd cheered a little more enthusiastically now, while Skidmark stood there with his hands behind his back completely calm. He looked to the Butcher who nodded and walked up the man with the microphone.

With a quick movement, he pulled his hand out holding a knife and stabbed him in the gut. Then he proceeded to stab the man over and over and over while the Teeth stood silent and the Butcher smiled. Blood spurted out over his face and he stopped while taking a deep breath. He pulled out a rag and wiped his face off before picking up the microphone and walking forward.

"Hello you ugly, uncle fucking, little quim jockeys," he said with a calm smile despite the blood on his clothes. "What you just saw is what is happening on the streets of this city. The streets are covered in blood. I know it and you know it. The heroes are little more than a Band-Aid on an open wound, and the rest of these lily-white motherfuckers think they can divide this city how they see fit. But they don't know what strength even is."

"Look around you. Who else has the numbers? Who else has the strength to control this city? I've served four Butchers and I'm here to tell you that the Teeth are eternal. The Butcher will never die, and we will still be here long after the rest of these fucked up little shits with their powers and their gimmicks are gone. You want to know why I should lead? I have given you more money than any other leader in the past. I've survived and served the Butcher when the rest died or deserted. But I should lead because I found something that is going to help us rule this city."

He walked over to the man bleeding and gurgling on the floor and gently pulled him up on his knee. He took out a small vial from his pocket and forced whatever was inside down the gullet of the dying man.

 _For a moment nothing happened and then I was transfixed as huge creatures suddenly filled my vision. The beings I had seen when I caused the boy to trigger, but this time I got a much closer look at them._

 _There were two of them and they seemed to move in sync with each other. They looked like a strange mess trees or a forest made of body parts that constantly changed and hit each other. They were everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Almost like a 3d image on a paper._

 _They were beautiful and I felt a strange sense of longing that I had never experienced before. There was something almost religious about them. They were a big as planets and communicated with the energy of a supernova for such simple messages._

 _All at once the vision changed, and something went wrong. Where once they danced in majesty, they now stood still. One was dead and rotting while the other screamed._

All at once my vision came back as I heard someone saying something. It was such a stark image between the dancing and living gardens and Skidmark. The Butcher was looking at him like a predator eying up a juicy steak.

"Powers in a can" he said holding up the vial. The man on the ground was covered in blood but was shaking in shock. Skidmark carefully picked the man up and wiped his face. He then turned and whistled.

Another man walked up on the stage carrying a case. He was dressed in stolen riot cop armor, but his helmet looked like something between a hockey mask and knight's helm. This was Rebar, who Aristotle said was one of the most dangerous Teeth. He could project forcefiields that would hit people with enough force to turn them into mush and was Skidmark's attack dog. Skidmark took the case and opened it for the crowd to show off five more vials.

"I hit the jackpot tonight," he said. "So let me ask you? Are you ready to set this fucking town on fire and show everyone who really runs this city?"

The crowd went wild. They screamed and hollered as the Butcher got up and walked to Skidmark who bowed to her while presenting the case. She took it and placed it behind her. She then pulled out a large knife and cut open a wound in her hand that she then held out to him. Skidmark bowed again and started to drink. A moment later he turned and smiled to the crowd who cheered.

"Your new warlord shall be Skidmark. His orders are my orders, " the Butcher said.

-Golem is ready- Sierra said. -The tunnel is tight but we can evacuate and everyone is nearby-

I turned to everyone and gestured them to follow me. We walked to the same ramp that no longer had any guards and saw Grue, Regent, and Epoch standing nearby.

Through the drones I saw the Butcher go back stage and return with a struggling man who had a bag over his head.

"I'm blowing the bomb now," I said to Grue who nodded and we rushed inside. The crowd inside was groggy but jumped as the explosions started. A moment later a earthen fist punched up in the center of the room before retracting back down. Golem stuck his head out of the hole. "Time to go."

Through the drones I saw people panic and jump as explosions went off nearby. The Butcher had stopped to look around while holding the mask to reveal the ABB wind controller Kamaitachi. She looked pissed as the screaming started.

People near the stage were falling down and wailing in an ever-growing circle. Kamaitachi looked around in panic before his soundless wind started to blow as he jumped off the stage.  
"Shit," I said as I turned around. "Everyone double time. Kamaitachi was on the stage and his wind is going to keep the virus from spreading too far depending on where he blows it. The Butcher will be here any minute."

Thankfully everyone was in the tunnel and I went in last as I had the Lusus play dead. Charlotte had a look of panic on her face and didn't look like she wanted to leave me, but went down the tunnel in front of me. I was the last to leave and directed the Lusus to seal the tunnel behind me.

The tunnel was tight but much bigger than I thought it would be. I could see the Teeth panicking as people fell, but the wind was protecting one half of the site. The Butcher appeared and grabbed Kamaitachi and shouted into his face before disappearing with him back on onto the stage to keep the wind going.

Pyrotechnical appeared over the exit to the tunnel in front of Charlotte. "Truck is full but we got everyone inside."

"Great, leave right now before the crowd gets here. Charlotte follow me," I said before realizing I had said her name.

Charlotte ran with me to the truck where Phoenix was standing guard and waved at us. Sierra opened the door with Bitch right behind her.  
"What happened?" Sierra screamed. "Why didn't it work?"

"Doesn't matter we need to leave right now."

At the moment I felt the truck shake as a small explosion appeared on the side of the truck and the Butcher appeared. She swung a massive cleaver through Phoenix's midsection and she disappeared in a flash of light which momentarily distracted her.

The Butcher turned to me incredibly pissed before her face turned to confusion as a strange buzzing filled my ears.

 _ **Fuck her. Kill Her. Weak Bitch. A hero?. Cunt. Gonna skin you alive.**_ For a brief instant I feel myself standing in front of myself. I'm angry and want to kill something but I hear a weird buzzing. _**Fucker. Weak. Bleed her. Rape her. Be strong. Crush it. Make her break. Dead. Slice and dice. Eat her up.**_

The Butcher and I begin to scream as we clutch our heads.


	16. 3-5

3.5

I wake up slowly. I don't feel any pain but my body feels numb, almost like everything is asleep. I distantly remember what felt like falling, and an incredible amount of pain. It felt like my head was going to explode. But now, I don't feel anything.

My body feels stiff as I stand up and open up my eyes to a black sky and a strange forest. None of the trees look like normal trees. They have similar trunks, branches, and leaves, but the proportions and shapes are off. There are species I can't recognize.

 _"Where the hell am I?"_ I think in shock. My head twists back and forth to take everything in.

This forest is alive. Noises, strange birds, and large insects fill the air. Several of the trees are bioluminescent and emitting a dark green, deep, light. The trees seem relatively young, and not fully-grown by their height.

I jump as a massive insect that looked vaguely like a dragonfly lands on a tree right next to me. I am cautious as I slowly inch my way closer to get a better look. It was easily as big as I was, with the wingspan stretching longer than I could hold out my arms. It seemed familiar, but that didn't make sense. No insect I had ever heard of was that big.

Several more of the strange bugs arrive overhead and I decide to leave. They don't seem like predators, but it was better to be safe than sorry. I keep my eyes open and back up slowly until they are out of sight.

I keep walking cautiously, looking for familiar landmarks or at least species. I racked my brain but I could remember how I got here. The thought is on the tip of my tongue but try as I might, no recollection comes.

 _Wait, now that I think about it, who am I?_

I can't remember anything about myself. Not even my name. I wander around hoping to look for a pond or stream so I can see my reflection, but I can hear any running water.

As if on cue, the tree in front of me begins to change shape and I fall back on my butt in my haste to get away. I look on in wonder as the morphs into an image that looks familiar. I look down and notice that the thing is wearing clothes exactly like mine. After a moment it falls down and matches my movements exactly.

Did the tree read my mind? How did know I wanted to know what I looked like?

I stand up slowly and the copy moves exactly as I do. I gently move forward until we stand opposite and right in front of each other. I move my hand up and gently clasp hands with it. It feels smooth, almost like glass to the touch, and I am filled with so many questions as I study it's no my appearance.

My face is a just a beautiful plant that is growing and dying as it makes beautiful designs. I place a hand on my face and the plant curls around it as it grows before shrinking back down. I am wearing a large over grown green coat, with numerous pockets inside it, and dark pants. On my back are long metal limbs that remind me of a spider that end with a variety of tools. They constantly twitch as I test how to move them. I hadn't even notice that they were there.

"Who are you?"I say to my copy. I decide to test a theory and dismiss the copy with a mental command, and am rewarded as the copy starts to melt in front of me. I kneel close and my mechanical arms move forward to study it but it disappears before I have a chance.

Standing up, I look around again at all the strange sights and smells with a weird sort of déjà vu. This forest seems so familiar despite how weird it is. I now I have been have been here before and everything seems to follow my mental commands.

I turn toward a group of dense trees and order them to move. They comply almost immediately, as the trees begin to sway and move. The roots come up from the ground and move likes snakes, with a new path appearing that beckons me forward. I study the trees that moved and it takes me a moment to figure out they aren't trees at all.

Small reptilian looking eyes are open along their sides and their braches on second glance are obviously long arms or tentacles that are made to look like branches. Pustules of greenish light for along the roots to light the way, and wicked looking mouths full of sharp teeth appear at the bottom of the "tree" trunks.

Now knowing that I could command them, I walk forward with no fear. They begin to whistle like birds as I pass which seems at odds with their appearance.

I see so many strange but beautiful sights as I walk. Huge beetles and odd shapes soar through the air, multi-armed monkeys swing through branches, and horned horses gallop in herds. Human shaped insects bow and sing to me as I pass. A massive rumble of huge footsteps stops as I come closer and moves away from me.

I feel so calm here. Like I have come home after a long trip.

I'm not sure how long I walk. There is no sun or stars in the sky to help me tell how much time has passed. I just put one foot in front of the other and do not feel tired no matter how much I walk. Eventually I reach a large clearing in the forest and see people for the first time.

Elated at finding someone else, I walk forward to see if they know me.

One is wearing an extremely dirty armor and helmet. Her shape suggests a woman; her dark hair looks un kept and it is obvious she doesn't take care of it. She is extremely thin, and looks like she could fall over at any moment. But despite her frail appearance, her helmet suggests she is someone dangerous in her own way. It is covered in red and unblinking holographic eyes that move and focus on me as I approach.

Next to her is a small and beautiful little girl. She is happy and smiling as she skips around the clearing. She has on a dark red dress, with leather apron hanging in front that is full of tools. Her blonde hair is curled in ringlets and she turns and giggles as I get closer. She waves to the third figure that stands out even in this forest.

She was at least fifteen feet tall, waif-thin and unclothed. Her hair whipped around her, nearly as long as she was tall and platinum white. She had numerous wings that seemed asymmetrical and illogical in their arrangement, each with pristine white feathers. The largest wings folded around her protectively, far too large in proportion to her body, even with her height. Other wings of vary size fanned out from the joints of others, from the wing tips, and from her spine.

Her face was delicate with high cheekbones. Her eyes were gray form corner to corner and they seemed to brighten up as I walked toward them. Her face twisted into a wide smile and she started to laugh which caused me to stop in my tracks as a strange chill went up my spine.

She had a cold voice that sounded like it didn't get much use. The winged woman rose into the air as she started to laugh harder, as if she had just heard the funniest joke ever. Her wings shook as she rose higher and higher into the air and her voice seemed to break out into a hysterical tone. I looked up and watched her as she flew up out of sight, laughing the whole way.

When I looked back down, the other two figures were gone. In their place were trees grown into their likeness. The trees were stunted, and looked half dead. I walked around them and they felt warm to the touch. I felt my body turn hot as they disappeared and my appearance changed. My hair was now curled up in ringlets, red unblinking eyes covered my coat, and I now had on an apron that was the same color as the little girls dress.

"What the hell are you?" a voice called out from the behind me. I whipped my head around and saw two more figures walking out of the woods.

One is a tall, muscular man with sharp features, and light gray hair. Brown eyes look out from a mask that seems to have been made from a decorated boxing helmet. He was wearing a long robe that you would see on boxers, though the sleeves were cut off and he was wearing it open to show off his well-toned abs. He had tattoos along both arms. On his left arm was the word Forearmed, and down the right were pictures of masks. He also wore green cargo pants, black combat boots, and a pair of finger-less black gloves that covered most of his forearms.

The other man who had called out looked like a soldier in black fatigues and covered in a vest full of gear. The only thing that stood out were his guns, which had been spray-painted white, and a helmet that seemed to have a speaker embedded in it. He unstrapped a large shotgun that he had on his side as he looked at me suspiciously.

"I asked you a question. What are you?" the soldier barked.

"Quit scaring the girl Dissonance," the other man said as he put his arm on "Dissonance's" shoulder.

"That is not a fucking girl. One look at this place should make that obvious to you."

* * *

"BITCH, FUCKING HELP ME!" Sierra shouted as she and the T1 desperately tried to hold Faust's arms down. Sierra knew from controlling it that the T1 Lusus was exceptionally strong. But even with its help, they couldn't keep Faust from clawing her mask off in a frenzied motion.

Her real face momentarily distracted Sierra. She had pictured Faust as an older women, with a fierce but matronly face. But instead she was a shockingly young girl. She didn't look any older than her brother.

"Oh my God" the women Faust had rescued gasped. "You're…"

* * *

"I don't who or what I am," I retorted to them suddenly angry. "I woke up here and don't remember anything. Who are you and where am I?"

"You don't know who you are?" Forearmed. "But that's impossible. The collective always saves memories when the Butcher dies."

"I'm dead?" I said with shock.

"No, you're not dead. If you were we wouldn't be here, and you would still have your memories. You're something new. But you're useless to us if you can't remember."

"Dissonance it's starting," Forearmed shouted pointing.

I turned to look and saw a tree dying. It was slowly decaying and what looked blood was oozing out of it. Curious I walked forward and touched it.

* * *

" _This thing used to be human," Quarrel thought with disgust._

 _His body was made up of several pieces, which seemed to operate independently of each other. They were attached with chains of ball joints, his shoulders and hips were ball joints, and his lower arms and legs were attached with chains._

 _The fucker was tall, almost 8 feet high, with his head as white and smooth as an eggshell, and shallow indents where the eyes and mouth should be, and a small bump for the nose._

 _His head wasn't real. I had shot two arrows through it and he ignored it. Thankfully the arrow in his hips limited his speed and agility._

 _I felt my power quicken and the space around him seemed to vibrate. I notched another arrow and let if fly as he held up an arm to catch it._

* * *

I gasp for breath but manage to keep standing. I turn to the others. "What was that?"

"That was one of Quarrels original memories. She seems out of it too, but the others will help her recover soon. We need to find your memories right now before she takes over.

"How? What memories? What do you mean?"

"Do you really not recognize this place girl?" Dissonance marveled.

"No, where am I?"

"This place is your mind, girl. All your hopes, ideas, thoughts, and memories are all you," he said waving his arm around. "Normally it gets consumed very quickly when you become the Butcher, but yours is disappearing slowly for some reason."

"What is the Butcher? What do you mean I became the Butcher?"

"Christ, you really don't know anything." He put his gun away and walked forward. "Do you know what parahumans are?"

I close my eyes and images of costumes, strange powers, fear, and wonder come to me. "Yes, I know what they are."

"The Butcher is a special kind of parahuman," Forearmed said. "People got a few different names for the beings that give us our powers. I call them demons because their presence has ruined the world." He turned and spat on the ground. "Most of the time these things aren't very smart. They're little more than animals that have an instinct toward causing trouble."

Forearmed moved to inspect a tree. "The Butcher's got a special demon that is far from stupid. It eats the memories of everyone around it for a lack of a better description and gets smarter every time it dies."

"What do you mean every time it dies? Once you're dead, you're dead."

"Maybe to humans, but the demons aren't human. You kill the person it's attached to and it just goes to find a new poor bastard to fuck with. But the Butcher goes to the person who murdered its old host and brings part of the person who died. It gets smarter, stronger, and it's ability to steal memories gets better every time it dies."

"So who are you two? How do you know this?"

Dissonance sighted. "We're old hosts to the Butcher."

I take a step backward. "You're dead!"

A look of rage and sadness goes over Forearmed's face."I honestly have no idea at this point. I don't know if I'm just a copy of the old Forearmed or the original. The Butcher can collect and read memories of anyone near it now. It uses these memories so it can learn how to push and hurt people in just the right way so more demons are spread. I know I used to have a family, but I can't remember them or anything about my old life. Not even my name."

Dissonant moves around in a circle, studying me. "The demon takes everything away that doesn't help make it stronger. But not to you and we want to know why."

* * *

 _Rolo was crying in fear. He looked up at me as he treads water as the cover over the pool blocked him from view. I shouted and screamed like I never had before. I was too weak to tear through it. I turned to the window and screamed and begged. But Vicki looked out unmoving with a smirk on her face._

 _I heard the crying stop. I turned toward the pool. No._

 _No._

 _There was a flash of something huge in her mind. A vision of giants made of glass and blood._

 _A moment later she woke up in the pool holding Rollo up who licked her face. She started to cry as she felt his tongue on her face. He was okay. She held him close and felt him start to grow. Spikes began to form on his back, and he grew and grew._

 _I couldn't swim, but I held onto him, as his legs grew tall enough that the water was shallow. I hugged him as I climbed on his back. I started to hear Vicki yelling. I instinctively flinched and Rollo began to growl with a voice that sent out a deep rumble. He jumped out of the pool with such force that I fell from his back._

 _That is when the screaming started._

* * *

"Who was that?" I shouted. "Another Butcher?"

"That was Rachel Lindt or Bitch's memories," Dissonance scolded. "Bitch's dogs are attacking Quarrel's body right now, and the collective took memories of her trigger event. My guess is that they are going to try hurting her dogs to make her retreat. But you should know this already if you saw her memories."

"But she could kill them like Rollo did with Vicki."

"Quarrel might die, but the collective would live on in Bitch. They'd probably welcome the death if Bitch makes them even stronger."

"There is no more time to explain," Forearmed said as he rushed forward. "They are already making her dogs run by causing them pain using the Butcher's original power. Clear your head, touch one of these trees and remember who and what you are. You have to remember before the collective gets active again."

I lean closer to the tree and hesitate. I take a deep breath and touch it, and another vision enters my head.

* * *

" _Its okay Emma," I say as I hug her tightly while she cries. I couldn't even imagine seeing my mother like that in a hospital bed. Dad says Emma was lucky that her Dad locked her and her sister in the closet before the Butcher's power affected him. But her sister was always stronger than Emma, and her face was a giant bruise._

 _The hospital was crowded with people and they had already discharged Emma. The news was calling it Bloody Tuesday. I tried to comfort Emma by telling her Alexandria was coming, and she would stop the Butcher. I remember what mom had asked me to talk to Emma about._

" _Emma. Do you think you should go see your sister? She feels bad for what she did and she wants to see you."_

" _She isn't my sister," Emma said as she released me. She gave me a hard look as she took my hands. "You're my sister Taylor."_

* * *

" _I'm going to miss you. Don't know why you have to go to this stupid summer camp," Emma said as she gave me a hug._

" _I promised Mom that I would go for one more year since I want to be counselor when I'm older. Don't worry Ems; it will be over in a few weeks. Then we can go watch and make fun of a bad movie."_

" _I'll keep you to that promise. See you soon Tay."_

* * *

 _The rain begins to come down harder._

 _It takes a long time to find the cape I had come for. I spent over an hour looking at every grave and moving on until I finally found it. I look down at the grave of the person I have come for. Whose power is going to change everything._

Rupert Alexander. AKA The First Butcher.

* * *

I fall to the ground and nearly heave as I remember my name and why I chose it.

"Dear God," Forearmed says as he jumps back with his arms up in a fighting stance.

Dissonance has his gun out and has it pointed down at my head. "You crazy, fucking, bitch. You're a new fucking Butcher!" he hisses in rage and shock.

That is when the ground begins to shake. A large rumbling is heard and the trees begin to fall. Animals are stampeding past us in a frenzy. A heavy and sudden shower of rain falls on my head, and I taste copper. I look down and realize that it is raining blood. I scream as I hear angry voices screaming in my head. I put my hands to my ears for all the good it does me.

"It's too late," Forearmed says as he walks toward me. He envelops me in a hug and puts his own hands over my ears to help muffle the screaming.

Dissonance has dropped his gun and makes the sign of the cross. "I'm sorry girl. You didn't deserve this."

The ground opens beneath my feet and I don't even have time to shout as I fall down into the dark. I'm not sure how long I fall but it feels like forever. The wind rushes past my ears as the darkness finally gives away to a red light that permeates everywhere.

I see strange places covered in blood as I fall. A boxing gym covered in bullet holes that are covered by dead bodies. A cube that constantly shifts positions that is full of people killing each other over and over again. I saw a defaced temple, a hurricane creating huge waves that whipped a boat back and forth, a tidal wave of mud cascading over a mountain, and so much more.

 _Were these the mental landscapes of the others in the collective?_

I looked down and saw a rapidly approaching frozen lake. I brace for impact and my body slams through the ice with a crash. I shake my head and swim up as my eyes adjust. All around me in the water are moving pictures, almost like home movies, depicting scenes of horror. Trigger events, murders, rapes, Endbringer attacks, and I struggle not to look too closely at them. I finally hear a huge sound, which causes me to look up in horror.

The Butcher collective was a gigantic mass, easily the size of my house. It is black, and amoeboid shaped, and its surface looks similar to tar that people use on roads. Gigantic faces formed on the surface and I was shocked when I recognized Dissonance and Forearmed among them. Inside I can barely make out people suspended and unmoving in the tar.

I screamed but couldn't be heard in the water as dozen human arms shot out of it and grabbed me. I struggled and was a little surprised that I managed to tear off a few of its arms. More arms appeared but I swam back and thrashed wildly and struggled with all my might. I managed to pull away and I felt a little relief that I was stronger than it. I was going to be…

* * *

 _I would never forget it for the rest of my life. The image was seared into my head. My mother's corpse was lying on the bed, with her mouth hanging open. Her eyes were dead and staring at nothing._

 _I kept hoping that this was like it usually was. That Dad would call and we would run to the hospital expecting her to die, but instead she'd be completely fine. She would smile and ask us about her day._

 _But mom was gone, and I would never see her again._

* * *

I screamed again as the arms wrapped around me. I was pulled closer but I systematically started to destroy the arms as the Butcher mass swam closer. I was desperate and struggled to get away.

* * *

" _You're a loser Taylor," Emma said with a sneer. "You're a weak little freak who killed her mother. The world would be better off without you in it."_

 _Sophia moved up and pushed me hard into the ground. The other girls laughed._

" _I'm so sorry Ems," I said crying on the ground. "I should have been there for you."_

 _Confusion shows up on her face. "What?"_

" _It doesn't really matter anymore," I said crying as I struggled to stand up. "Enjoy being strong."_

 _Goodbye sister._

* * *

I felt myself pulled into the mass and I'm too weak to struggle anymore. My mind is forced to relive the worst moments of my life. I saw my mother slowly dying, Emma betraying me, and my despair.

* * *

The young girl, who had called Faust "Taylor", was vomiting as I wrapped up a piece of my costume over where Faust's eyes used to be. I tried not to think about what I had just seen.

Bitch's dogs and the T1 were barely holding Faust down. The dog's teeth were tearing her skin as she struggled. Bitch had managed to maul the Butcher pretty bad before the dogs started to scream and she retreated after the Butcher had said something to her.

Bitch had been quiet during the entire mission, with her face always covered in something of a sneer. But now her face was almost white, and she looked scared.

What had the Butcher said to her?

The S.C.I.O.N. sent me another update and I winced behind my mask. Faust's mind was chaos. Full of strange signals and messages. The shut down order hadn't worked. The S.C.I.O.N. was running diagnostics before it tried again and then I would give the shut down order again.

She was our only chance of getting away now. The Butcher was still having some kind of convulsions but she wasn't screaming any more and a huge wall of earth had formed around her and the truck that we couldn't dig through it.

* * *

I feel so small.

Nothing matters.

I'm nothing.

Emma was right.

"Don't give up girl," Dissonance said in barely a whisper. "You're stronger than you think. You're a Butcher too."

Forearmed chimes in a little clearer."That memory about Emma. Even after all she did, you didn't hate her. Remember why."

I didn't hate Emma? That couldn't be right. She betrayed my trust, made my life a living hell, and went out of her way to hurt me. I close my eyes and was shocked to discover it was true. I felt true pity for her, not hatred.

Why didn't I hate her?

Images begin to fill my mind.

* * *

 _My sheer joy at being a parahuman was hollow. The world was over. Mom was dead. Emma was gone._

 _I sat in her office after the funeral. Numb, it doesn't really register. Dad isn't really there anymore. I read her books and look at her pictures of happier times._

 _A simple poster on the wall causes me to stop. "Be the change you want to see in the world." I imagine my mother saying it and for the first time in a long time, I feel my determination solidify as I think of a plan._

A plan? What plan?

 _Sophia is hitting me in the kidneys and I throw up all over her shoes. She makes a disgusted face and pushes me down. I am covered in vomit and juice, with the girls around me laughing._

 _Emma is laughing and deliberately steps on my hand causing me to cry out as she walks out._

 _But I do not feel miserable or sad._

 _I am smiling in triumph. I have proof._

* * *

That's it. I remember the plan.

* * *

 _The glasses and cameras were almost ready. I bought the cameras myself and am glad that being a Tinker gave me some extra mechanical know how._

 _If the faculty wouldn't listen to me, then I would go over their heads. I needed proof. Picking the lock to the school wouldn't be hard. I would sneak in and place the cameras. When I had the proof of the schools indifference and Emma's guilt I would show the evidence to anyone and everyone._

* * *

"But you didn't release it right away. You endured it for several more months," Dissonance observes.

Yes I did. It had worked perfectly. I had more than enough footage, but something unexpected came up.

* * *

 _His name was Vinh and he was new to the city. He was a very attentive student who wanted to study hard. But a few of the ABB were making trouble for him._

 _They stole his books, called him names, and pushed him into joining. But he didn't want to. He was afraid, but he didn't go the authorities._

 _He had the same look on his face that I did in the videos._

 _I look for a better place to put a camera to catch them all in the act. No one deserved to go through that._

* * *

That's right. I saw a boy being threatened by the ABB to join them. He didn't want to, and had started skipping school.

I decided to expand my plan to help him. I would record their faces and bring the proof of their wrongdoing. But then I saw another student who was miserable, then another.

I saw a girl being bullied and having no one to turn to. I saw teachers trying to do the impossible and help people with no support and just added more and more students to my list to try help. Before long, my video was huge and covered so many students. I blurred faces except for all the people who were making everyone else miserable.

I felt such an incredible guilt and hypocrisy at myself. I whined about no one ever helping me, but I stood by and did nothing why others in were in pain. But in the end I was finally done.

But before released the video, I saw something with Emma. What did I see?

* * *

 _Emma had been angrier than normal today. She was far more physical than normal with shoves and pinching me. The small microphone in her locker had managed to pick up a conversation with her dad._

" _No Dad, we are not having this conversation again. I already told you no. I don't need any therapy about it," she whispered angrily_

 _What was she talking about? What therapy?_

* * *

"What did you do then?" one of them said. Their voices have started to blur together.

I was intrigued and got the idea to steal her phone. Emma always kept the same codes and passwords. I was confident I could get evidence of the bullying if I stole it. I decided to do it that Thursday when her parents usually worked late, and secretly drugged her with something I made at home so she got sleepy early. I knew where the spare house key was hidden in their yard. It was child's play to break in. Then I found something that changed everything.

"What did you see? Remember."

* * *

 _I stood over her and seethed. The bitch was sleeping so soundly without a care in the world. I was sorely tempted to drug her again and hurt her so she couldn't hurt me again._

 _It would be so easy and no one would ever know._

 _No. I'm going to be a hero. I'm better than them. I scanned the room and looked for her phone. Ah, there we are._

 _I opened it up closely and brought out my kit to copy the SIM card when I saw it. A small leather bound book decorated with pictures of birds. Emma had always loved birds. I had given Emma her diary when we were kids. I thought she had gotten rid of it._

 _I walked forward and opened it up to a random page. I started to read and felt my anger drain out._

 _I started to cry._

* * *

I read about everything that Emma had kept hidden. I read about Emma being assaulted while I was away at camp and being saved by Shadow Stalker. I read about her fear, her self-hatred, and her new obsession with being strong. I felt such pity and sadness toward her. She was in pain just like I was. Then I did something I thought I would be impossible.

"What was that?"

I forgave her. **  
**

I left the phone where it was and left with the book. I tried one more time to seek common ground the next day. She threw it back in my face and laughed. I apologized for not being there for her when she needed me, and left. I released the video documentary to the school, the police, the family lawyer, and to the Internet. I told Dad everything that happened and went to the school like nothing was different.

* * *

" _Ms. Hebert this is no laughing matter. You have broken the law by installing hidden cameras throughout the school and recording students without consent. Your father and the police have been called."_

" _I am being informed to be silent and wait for my father to come in before talking to you anymore," I said._

" _Being informed?"_

 _I tapped my glasses. "Everything you are saying is being recorded and broadcasted right now to the Internet," I said in a matter of fact tone. Her face took on this lovely shade of red._

" _I wish to wait for my dad and refuse to speak to you without him present. Oh by the way, there are few other parents with a few concerns about how you are running this school posting a few things themselves."_

 _It takes considerable effort not to smile._

" _That is what our client is prepared to offer," our lawyer said. "You pay for a teacher to help her be homeschooled, and make sure Emma and Sophia get therapy. Do that and we won't press charges."_

 _The school's lawyer seems a bit too well dressed to be working for Winslow. She has an excellent poker face. "There is also the matter of your client illegally recording students under the age of 18 without their consent."_

 _Our lawyer laughs out loud. "Considering all the negative publicity your school has just occurred, I almost want you to try. She blurred out everyone's faces except for a very few, and don't pretend the school gives a shit about protecting students now. You should be grateful for the fact that there are so many donations pouring in for a new anti gang and anti bullying program to be set up here."_

 _I get up to leave and tell Dad I'm going to wait in the car. He gives me a smile and squeezes my hand._

 _I take my last walk through Winslow and feel the stares. It's hard to be anonymous now that everyone is calling me video girl._

 _I stopped suddenly as I found Emma and Sophia at the end of the hallway. Emma looks strangely pensive and Sophia has a look of barely restrained fury. I give them a look of pity and walk past them without looking twice._

" _Taylor, I..." Emma begins to say but stops silent._

 _I open the car door and pull out my journal as I sit down. I continue to sketch an idea I had for a Lusus made from snake DNA._

* * *

"Ha, ha, ha. You got class girl. You got the hang of the memories now? Remember what made you a hero. Remember why the Teeth are afraid of you.

I open my mind and start to laugh as the memories come in.

* * *

 _Kaiser is screaming and thrashing on the ground. The Lusus continues to smile as it is torn in half by Menja and I lose the connection._

 _I give the signal and the car guns it, moving full speed toward the wall._

 _The rats inside confirm no one will be crushed through it will a huge noise._

* * *

 _The gangbanger stands there confused as his voice is repeated behind him._

 _He turns and sees the mimics running at him full tilt. He barely has time to scream before they are on him._

* * *

 _I start thinking of a plan. Thinking of it, I start laughing so hard I can't even take the air in to make the sound of laughter. But I can't help it. It's just so damn funny._

 _The gangs have no idea what is coming._

 _I am going to hurt them._

 _I am going to hurt them so badly._

* * *

"Why is she laughing?" Bitch asks.

* * *

I open my eyes and look around. There are Butchers suspended in the black tar like substance. I remember the trees and wonder if I am still in my own mental landscape. If so I should still be able to control things.

I imagine Yawn and it suddenly appears around my legs. I have it clamp down and its body becomes my long tail like a snake. I turn around and spot Dissonance and Forearmed who are isolated from the others.

I use my tail to propel myself through the Tar and struggle toward them. I grab both of them tight and remember that beautiful forest. All at once a small seed appears in my hand.

I throw it and it suddenly sprouts. I concentrate and it begins to grow and grow. The Butcher mass begins to shake and convulse as the tree suddenly grows. I grab a branch with my tail as it suddenly shoots upward like a rocket. The air comes out of my lungs but I look down in triumph down below as Dissonance and Forearmed begin to stir.

The Butcher mass is reeling under the water with the tree split in between it. It starts to scream in rage as it struggles to tear the tree apart.

The ice on the lake begins to break up as more and more trees start to shoot up from the water. I dive to the nearest one and use my tail to slide down on the ground. Dissonance is coughing and heaving, while Forearmed use some kind of deep breathing technique.

"God damn, I could kiss you girl." Dissonance croaks.

"Don't celebrate just yet old man," Forearmed said with a determined look. "We aren't out of the woods yet.."

From the depths they appear. Vehemence with the tattoos all over face screams a war cry and twirled a huge sword around her head, Devil Child disappears and reappears with a huge explosion to the side, Rotmonger's fur stood up to make herself look bigger and she bares her fangs and howls a challenge. In the center Quarrel is wielding a huge bow with a look of sheer rage on her face.

All fifteen of them are in a line defending the same black mass still in the water. In the center I can see the first and original Butcher.

"If they're protecting him, chances are something bad will happen if we kill him." I said with a grin.

On my left Dissonance reloads a large shotgun, and on my right Forearmed begins to stretch and take deep breaths.

Quarrel walks forward. "We are going to kill you little girl."

I start to laugh again as I feel the trees continue to grow behind me. "You poor, deluded, slave. How could one such as you kill me? You don't even know what true strength or pain is. Your power is my plaything to do with as I see fit. I'm not going to kill you. I'm going to turn you into my trophy, broken and screaming at your own weakness on my wall. Get down on your knees and beg me for forgiveness and maybe I will let you die someday."

"You're outnumbered Bitch."

"I was about to say the same thing."

The trees begin to shrink and disappear as my Lusus Naturae begins to flow out. Mimics begin to mock Quarrel in her own voice, two giant beetles with huge horns fly overhead with one landing nearby. I curl my tail around the beetle's midsection and climb on. On the sides are rows of infiltrators, and things I had barely imagined. The Lusus gather around us as we face opposite of the Butcher line. For just a moment we are still before the Lusus charge.

Commando opens up with his mini gun. It makes an incredible amount of sound as the Lusus begin to be cut down. It doesn't last long as he falls to the ground while vomiting.

"It was me girl," Dissonance called out to me in my head. "My power can affect people through any sound in my range. Stupid bastard should have made the gun quieter."

I move two Brute Lusus in front of him for cover as the Beetle I am riding takes to the air. I had yet to make Brutes, but the design itself was ready and all I had to do was imagine it.

They were almost entirely encased in an armored, spiked exoskeleton made from bone and calcified skin. Its posterior was relatively unarmored in contrast, and from it sprouts a pair of vestigial arms used for support if one of its main arms is cut off. It moved like a gorilla, using its huge arms to support its weight.

The Butchers are powerful and the Lusus are dying in droves. But as long as I am alive, the trees can keep growing, and the Lusus will keep coming. I'll outlast them in the end.

I focus most of my forces at Vehemence for my first target. She will be dangerous if she is allowed to power up from all the violence around he.

The Lusus try to dog pile her but she doesn't go down easy. Her huge sword is swung with ease all around her like some kind of ballet but the Lusus are too coordinated for them to be stopped for long.

Three mimics attack from three directions at the same time. She crushes two but the third manages to cut her leg. She falls as she tries to turn and I have the mimic stab her in frenzy over and over in her face. I back the mimic off as her heart stops though I am surprised when it begins to melt into the same black Tar the original Butcher is in.

I look toward the mass at the far end of the lake and curse as Vehemence's face on it shimmers and she reappears unharmed out of it. Okay, new plan is to focus on the first Butcher. But the others aren't going to make that easy.

Wild Child is teleporting in front of the Lusus and placing large spools of what looked like red and blue steel wires. She reappears with Tripwire a moment later who is wearing the same wires all over his costume. Behind him, Flint is slowly building up a wall all the way along the lake.

Tripwire pushes a button and the wires shoot out and spread out between the spools like a demented cats cradle. I slow the Lusus down and slowly work through the wires when they suddenly shift and move into new patterns. The wires tear through the Lusus with ease, but it is more of a temporary setback.

One of the beetles dives down for Flint and Quarrel shoots him with an arrow. But the Beetle is too tough for a single arrow to stop it and it skewers Flint before taking off again.

While this is going on, a battery of Termites concentrate there on several sections of the wires to disable them. The Lusus line up and mass for a new charge while Quarrel takes pot shots at them. Her arrows kill a Lusus with every one, but she can't fire that many, and most of the Butchers are short-range fighters. I can spawn Lusus indefinitely while being safe in the air.

Tripwire moves to reinforce his lines and I choose that moment for the Brutes charge through his lines at him. The wires cut into them, but the armor is too tough for it to kill them.

Red Ronin runs to Tripwire's defense and he easily sidesteps a Brute as he swings his sword which removes its head. I have the other Brute pick up a spool of wire and throw it hard at Red Ronin but he makes a large slash that cuts through it and stops its momentum.

He doesn't have time to feel proud as Dissonance's shotgun's fire hits him several times from behind the other Brute and he is flung back. I send the last Brute charging at Tripwire, but he throws some kind of grenade that wraps it in even more wires him before he is wrapped up in yet more of Tripwire's wires that cause it to fall over while he runs the other way.

I send the Lusus pouring into the hole as Dissonance falls back to keep out of range of Quarrel's arrows. The horde meets Leverage, Vehemence, and Rotmonger. I send the mimics over the line to keep the others distracted while the main forces meets them head on.

Leverage is going through them like they are nothing, tossing them high into the air or at each other. Rotmonger and Lancet are keeping him from being overwhelmed by watching his back and rotting or bleeding the Lusus dry by touch.

I hold back the larger Lusus and send in the rats after Leverage. He stomps them but they are too small and quick for him to get them all as they climb up his legs and arms. He screams as one manages to bite his eye. I rush him while he is distracted and he goes down.

I don't have much time to exploit the hole in their lines when Devil Child appears with Rhinohide who is covered in explosives right next to Rotmonger who turns and runs but doesn't make it before she detonates.

A massive explosion kills all the Lusus and several Butchers nearby and creates a huge hole in the ice. Commando opens up with his Mini-Gun and Quarrel starts picking off the few Lusus left.

I spawn more Lusus, and select for traits so that these models can jump or avoid the wires. A new mass charges straight for the hole.

Forearmed is dueling with Lancet and Mongrel who haven't been able to touch him as he smashes limbs and kills both of them. He turns and runs toward the wires and gets through them without breaking stride using some kind of weird flips and turns.

Forearmed goes straight after a group of three Butchers that includes Red Ronin, Rotmonger, and Carnal. Seeing him in his element tells me why the Butcher was so dangerous when they had his power. He avoids attacks that can kill him with ease, and was skilled enough to land counter blows. He taunts the group and manages to land a massive hit that sends Carnal tumbling into the wires where he is cut into several pieces.

Several T1s show up next to Dissonance on giant grasshoppers and he climbs aboard with them just before they rocket over the wires. I have them yell as loud as they can and he uses his power to affect several Butchers at once who begin to fall down.

 _We're winning_.

I send most of flyers straight at the first butcher, and there is non-one able to reach them in time. But it does little good as they bounce or smash into the black mass. I swarm around it picking and tearing, but the Lusus can't get inside. Why wasn't it working?

"Dive now, little beast queen," Forearmed says in my mind.

I don't question or hesitate and send the beetle into a steep dive. A moment later a loud explosion is heard as Devil Child appears where I just was carrying Red Ronin who she drops.

Red Ronin goes into a dive like a skydiver and I manage to turn away from him. But his boots make a loud boom as he somehow takes several jumps in midair to close the distance and cuts the Beetle in half as he passes. I jump off before it fully splits and dive for a nearby tree that grows to meet me. I just manage to grab a branch, and am thankful for me Brute status as other wise the arm would have been torn from its socket.

Red Ronin uses his air jumps to land on a branch and launch himself right me.

I easily dodge as my implants make it so he is moving almost in slow motion and use my tail to whip the side of his leg and he tries to jump on the air again. He falls and tries to reorient himself but I coil and tackle him hard in midair. We collide into the side of the trunk of the tree hard. His armor seems to have absorbed most of the blow but he is still stunned, giving me a chance to wrap around him and pin his arms to his side.

I study his helmet and armor as I slowly squeeze. I can't crush his armor but he isn't able to get air in his lungs. He makes no sound as I slowly suffocate him.

* * *

 _Kill him, Kill him, kill him._

 _The crowd is screaming for me to finish what I started._

 _I wipe my blade clean and move to stand over my fallen opponent who looks up with hatred in his eyes._

 _I feel nothing as I kill my brother._

* * *

I shake my head and stare down at Red Ronin's corpse as it tumbles down to the ground. It didn't disappear.

All at once the other Butchers stand completely still which allows the Lusus to kill Chaos Factor and Vehemence again.

"If you kill them, they stay dead", Dissonance said.

"No shit Sherlock," Forearmed. " That black mass let you in before. Wonder what would happen to the others if you kill the first Butcher?"

The Butchers change tactics and begin to fall back around the first. Flint is turning the ice into slowly raising ice walls around a new Vehemence. It's going slowly but I can tell he is trying to make a fortress of ice to slow down the Lusus and let Vehemence power up.

I switch tactics as well and a host of small poisonous birds appears out of the tree I am standing on causing it to drastically shrink. They move across the sky in a large black mass with Flint as their target.

Ulfserker uses his power as they get near, causing them to fight and kill each other. I pull them up and simply spread them out before making another dive. They are too numerous for his power to stop them all and they dive bomb Flint. He panics remembering his last death, causing the ice walls to explode outward with a huge boom, which shakes my body from her. Ice shards tear the birds to pieces but leaves Vehemence exposed.

The Lusus regroup and charge again. I stop and think. There is another way to get to the first Butcher, though I really don't want to it. I take a deep breath and dive down from the tree into a hole in the ice.

All at once I start to get flashes of memories again. Horrible, disgusting, evil images over and over. But all it does it make me angry and I swim as fast as I can toward the Butcher mass under the ice.

I'm not sure how it notices, but it realizes I am headed toward it and turns to face me when I get near it. More of the black arms shoot out but I am far too strong and fast for it now. I tear through them like they nothing and rush with no hesitation into the black mass.

The Butcher turns and screams with hatred as he sends a wave of pain at me. But I ignore it and he seems shocked that it did nothing. He recovers quickly though and takes a swing at me.

Whatever this black tar stuff is, it's slowing me down and making him faster. But he is a poor fighter and telegraphing his punches. It is easy to dodge them without too much trouble. I see an opening and coil around him with my tail. He starts to scream something but I start to squeeze and it dies in his throat.

"We have company girl," Dissonance said with caution. "This one of yours?".

My Lusus turn and spot a flying golden light in the shape of a man that is accelerating toward me and I recognize it.

No, not yet Sierra. I'm so close.

I squeeze the Butcher as hard as I can but the black tar is strengthening him. I place my hands around his neck and keep squeezing with my hands and tail. I can feel him faltering as more memories are absorbed by me.

I see flashes of Teeth operations, and plans. A hidden vehicle made by Squealer, and memories of my bullying and what I am. I take it all as I slowly squeeze the life at of him.

He is getting desperate. A moment later I hear a scream and feel another Butcher die, which seems to strength him. Then another Butcher dies, and then another as I squeeze. Chaos factor, Tripwire, and Lancet's memories flash in my head as they die.

A large white light begins to burn out of me and I curse. I was so close.

Despite my disappointment, I can't help but smile as fear spreads out over his face.

"You won't escape again," I snarl with every bit of venom I can put in my voice as everything starts to go white. "I am coming for you".

* * *

I wake up with a start and feel myself being held down. I take deep breaths and can't see anything. The S.C.I.O.N. gives me a diagnostic and I curse when I realize I'm blind.

"Are you okay Faust?" Sierra asked giving me access to her eyes.

She seemed guarded and a little afraid. I wince as I look at my face through her eyes. My eyes are largely gone, with long gashes through them and one of my cheeks has been ripped open. It seems I slashed at my face with my fingers at least four times. I command the spiders to unfold themselves and move toward T1 glances at Charlotte who looks even worse then she had. She is holding herself into a ball doesn't look at my face.

"Trust me, I am better than the Butcher is. How long was I out?"

"Almost a minute. We were stuck for a while by this large earthen wall that came out of the ground."

"Let me guess. It exploded?"

"Yeah, and we got the hell out of dodge after I activated the implant. The truck is driving out as here as fast as we can safely go."

I mentally stop the truck and take full control of the T1 and the spiders nearby.

"What are you doing?" Bitch asks. Her dogs are half grown and they look growl as she holds their leashes. Sierra turns to glance at her before back at me.

Remembering her trigger event, I almost feel like giving her a hug. She really did have a shitty deal. I know what that is like.

"I'm getting out. Squealer has a big heavy-duty vehicle covered in guns. The truck isn't fast enough to get away. I am going to distract the Teeth so you can escape."

"How do you know Squealer has a spare vehicle?" Sierra asked.

"I saw it in her mind." I said as I give her a hug, which surprises her. After a moment she returns it. "Don't worry, I will explain everything when I get back. No more secrets."

Drop off Bitch where she wants to go, and take Charlotte to the lab

You aren't planning to come back are you?

Of course I am going to come back. I kept my promise to get your brother and I promise you I am coming back. Trust me, I have a plan

"You're going to need this," she said as she handed me a bag. Inside was my mask and costume.

"Thanks." I jump out of the truck with the T1 and the spiders scramble out next to me. I give control of the truck back to Sierra who doesn't say anything as she closes the door.

I start walking back toward the pit fight and wait until the truck is out of sight before I sit down and start to repair my injuries. . The T1 sits down next to me and

I cannibalize it for parts. The spiders remove its arms and sensory organs, which I graft to my own body. A little impromptu brain surgery helps me use its echolocation with the S.C.I.O.N. compensating for my brain for the missing pieces.

A moment later the digger Lusus that helped Golem dig the escape tunnel appear in my range. I remove my legs and give myself a tail made from the parts of the digger Lusus. It isn't as well made as the Yawn model, but it should make me faster.

The drones overhead sweep the area and spot sheer mayhem at the pit fight. Several cars were on fire and there were Teeth laying on the ground not moving all over the place. A traffic jam was keeping the Teeth bottled up but that would be sure to change soon. I can't spot the Butcher but I can see Skidmark shouting and organizing everyone.

Rebar, Night, Fog, and Mush are gathering anyone who can move to follow them toward Skidmark.

The Butcher was probably getting Squealer's backup vehicle in order. I didn't get much from the collective about Squealer but I know her vehicle is fast and heavily armed. I have to hold the Butcher's attention until everyone else is far enough to make a clean getaway.

As long as I am here fighting, the Butcher will focus everything the Teeth have on me. She knows how dangerous I am now, and that I can kill her. She won't pass up a chance to kill me here with no Lusus to protect me.

It's so strange though.

I am almost certainly about to die. I am no match on my own against all of them and the Butcher. I have no idea if any part of my consciousness will transfer to my killer. Even if it did, the Butcher will probably kill that person to end me for good.

But I am unafraid. There is a sense of calmness as I move forward back toward the pit fight. There are worse ways to go and I might finally get to see Mom again. At the very least I promise to myself that anyone who fights me won't do so unscathed.

I initiate the full unlocking of my body's limiters. The S.C.I.O.N. activates and I give the authorization password.

"Evil triumphs when good men do nothing."

I feel both of my hearts begin to beat extremely quickly as the limiter on my brain is shut off. I feel my mind expand and the world become so clear and vivid. Time begins to slow down and my body begins to feel hot. I feel my muscles become taut and I make a final confession to Dad in my head giving him my love.

I can hear and see the Teeth moving in large groups around the pit fight. Credit where it is due, they are much more organized now than they were a few minutes ago. Torches and flashlights are sweeping the area but they are moving cautiously as they get past the fence. All of them are holding guns in shaking hands as they start moving toward the parking lot. I don't blame them considering what I have done to the Teeth in the past.

I close my eyes to concentrate and that is when I begin to hear it.

For just a moment I shake my head thinking I am imagining it. But slowly it becomes louder and clearer. My eyes open in shock as I listen in wonder and amazement.

That is when I start to laugh.

I use the new diaphragm from the T1 to take up my voice and project it as loud as it can go across the valley and the where the Teeth are gathered.

I can see the Teeth freeze as my weird laughter floats around. The chaos and noise quiets down as they strain to listen. Once I get a good look at their fearful faces with the drones, I just lose it. I clutch my sides and start to laugh hysterically.

I see the Teeth look around nervously as the laughing begins to spread all around them. It seems to come from everywhere and they start to hear in their heads as I start to use Dissonance's power.

 _"I never knew your range was so large."_

 _"It pays to keep secret your full capabilities. As you very well know girl."_

I close my eyelids over the empty sockets, and all at once our laughter stops. The sudden silence is eerie and for just a moment there is a strange stillness in the air.

" _This idea seems a little cheesy_ ," I said to Forearmed.

 _"Trust me, they're a superstitious group. Scaring them will make them less organized."_

 _"If you say so. Here it goes."_

We open our eyes and begin to speak in a whisper that echoes as if there is something beneath our voice. It spreasd and comes from every sound in our range.

 **"We are the being who has transcended the pattern of the world. We are what your petty little God fears. We force life itself to bow to our whims. We are the mad and the damned. We are the power, which eternally wills evil and eternally works good."**

With a thought, our spiders rush forward with us as fast as they can. The forest becomes a blur as we speed toward the Teeth.

We can't help but laugh again as the screaming starts.

* * *

Authors Note- Can't use colored text on this site. One more chapter in this arc and then Coil's interlude. Taylor made some new friends!


	17. 3-6

3.6

The Teeth were not well-organized butchers. For parking, they had appropriated an open field and turned it into a barely-organized mess of vehicles and shouting that hovered on the edge of a brawl. Then the virus bomb deployed. Unfortunately, the lot was situated well away from the main event, and the prevailing wind conspired to leave it, and the site entrance, largely untouched, for the moment.

Panic ensued as the Teeth watched each other begin to abruptly fall prone, writhing in pain. The crowd became a mob and stampeded to the exit, only to meet with my infiltrators, which were tasked with bottling them up while the virus worked.

The lusus held their ground, for a time. With practiced showmanship, they let out an atonal warble that built into a screech, then split their faces and stalked forward. The front ranks of the crowd were mostly ineffective against them, but they were so thoroughly outnumbered that it couldn't last. In the end, they fell, each sporting dozens of knife and bullet wounds.

The parking lot quickly became a chaotic mess of pushing and shoving. Drivers shouted and honked as they tried to force their way through but no one would give an inch. Bullets and a few screams could be heard as a few of the Teeth attempted to commandeer a ride. Cars and trucks began to deliberately ram their vehicles into another to open up room.

Which was the exact moment we made our speech and came speeding in. We started to pump out the same virus I had first used on the heroes. It took roughly three seconds to incapacitate someone, and the effective range was about sixteen feet depending on the wind.

Dissonance's power could sense the world as a sort of ocean superimposed over the world with sounds being the waves that spread out and bounced against the rest of the physical space. To Dissonance's senses, or mine now I suppose, the world seemed to erupt in front of me into a huge and confusing mass.

 _"How do you make sense of all this?"_ I asked Dissonance.

 _"I usually have eyes to help judge it girl,"_ he said a little grumpy.

"How good is your power's stamina?," I asked with a fair bit of snark. Mostly to test his power, I focused on random waves in the parking lot and started to twist them. People near the twisted waves began to vomit and fall over in their cars, adding to the traffic jam. I had more fun than was healthy twisting the waves over and over in front of us.

 _"Be careful with using it. My power always had a limit, and I can't use it as much as I used to. Be frugal with it."_

We coiled and jumped onto the roof of the cars. The few spiders we had came up behind us, climbing over the roofs much more slowly than we could move. Thankfully most of the cars were packed in so tight with people trying to leave, that we could cross without too much trouble or loss of speed.

The virus was beginning to work its magic as the noise behind us gradually grew quiet before finally going silent. A few cars kept moving till they started to hit other cars and come to a stop. We could sense a significant change in noise, as the waves gradually grew weaker before going completely still behind us.

The Teeth still running to their cars heard things suddenly going quiet and looked up. They yelled warnings, a few screamed, and a few started to pull out firearms. We focused on the biggest waves around them and twisted again. The few firing guns slumped over, with a few actually fainting.

We focused on one gunmen still standing and plowed through him without stopping. He flipped and fell onto the ground before slumping over behind us as the virus took effect.

The field was too wide for the virus to affect everyone so we started to twist the sounds near the exits of the fields to help block the Teeth in. We couldn't get all of them but it would slow them down and most would probably have to walk to get away.

The drone above us spotted the first parahuman we had encountered and we changed directions to head toward him. He was wearing a red wife beater to show off the gang tattoos covering his neck and arms. He was wearing a cheap white clown mask with painted lips and eyes. Every inch of available white space was covered in designs drawn with permanent marker that matched his tattoos. There was a flashback of memory as Dissonance and Forearmed shared their memories of him.

Reaver, a Brute who could control how strong or tough he was to a great degree. He could put all of his power to focus on toughness to take a hit thank put all his power into strength to help him throw one of the metal spears he had in a quiver on his back. Most of the memories I had on him showed him as little more than a bully who liked to break in new members and show them who was in charge in his old city. Usually by challenging them to a physical fight and pissing on them when he won.

 _"Do you two think you can keep me from absorbing the memories until I give the go ahead? I don't want to get distracted."_

 _"That should be easy enough,"_ Forearmed stated. _  
_

He saw us coming and pulled out a large and heavy spear from the quiver on his back. He bent back and threw it like a javelin. Forearmed's power sent us a warning of being impaled and I twisted to the right as it passed where our head used to be.

He looked like he wanted to throw another spear but changed his mind as everyone started to slump over around us. He turned to run but he didn't get far with our new speed. The extra large arms I had taken from the T1 snagged his ankle as we passed and he fell to the ground. The virus took a few seconds longer to drop him, so we spent that time pulling out my spare laser scalpel. We felt the loss of our surgical arms keenly, but we had to work with what we had.

Rebar looked up at us with terrified eyes through his mask as he realized what were about to do. He used his power to go as tough as he could go as we turned him over onto his belly.

We made a note to the S.C.I.O.N. about trying to figure out how Bonesaw was able to operate on Brutes whose bodies were naturally tough. Prion infections to shut down their power wouldn't work on all of them. We wasted several precious minutes cutting him open. The spiders finally caught up to us as we exposed his spine.

We worked quickly with our implants helping to move all of our arms and hands quickly and steadily. We fused a spider to his spine in record time and tested the connection as the other spiders closed him up. Reaver stood up in front of us and we tested the connection as he fell in line next to the spiders.

We very quickly covered most of the distance between the parking lot and we were nearly at the parking lot when we met our first real resistance as we saw a flash of danger from above. We dove to the side as a massive red pillar of light slammed down with huge force causing the ground to shake. Images of memories flash in my head.

Rebar, Skidmark's right hand man, and arguably the most dangerous member of the Teeth besides the Butcher. Wore stolen riot cop arms and a grilled visor. He could make powerful forcefields that could hit like a battering ram. He also never talked and was naturally quiet making him hard to put down with Dissonance's power unless somehow made a loud noise near him. Going through his memories startled me a little as an image of his face showed strange tentacles growing out of him.

 _"He is a case 53? Where did Skidmark get all those vials?" I queried to myself.  
_

 _"No idea, the Butcher never cared as long as he kept strengthening the Teeth," Dissonance remembered.  
_

 _"It might be shocking to know but the Butcher only cared about fighting," Forearmed added._

The signals from the sound waves hitting newly formed solid substance in mid air gave me plenty of warning of how big and where the Rebar's fields were forming. I barely moved my body and easily dodged two small thin fields that shot past me like bullets as we kept going. The drone overhead showed a line of Teeth gunmen taking cover at the entrance behind Rebar.

We grabbed one my own vials from inside my coat and threw it hard at Rebar who stood under another field. He formed another large red and blocky forcefield over himself that gave him room to retreat as the vial hit. A large green fog of anesthetic gas formed and began to spread just as the gunmen opened fire.

We dove and twisted in the fog but a few bullets still managed to hit me. Thankfully we were more than tough enough to handle a few bullets but they still stung. Irritated we focused on the sounds from their guns and twisted them. All at once the gunmen began to fall down and heave on the ground. Rebar's was either far enough way to not be affected or his fields blocked sound. But it seemed they weren't airtight as he moved away from the fog. We twisted the sound of his heartbeat to at least make him uncomfortable as he started to retreat. The drone could make out Spree as he passed by him and his clones began to shoot out from him. Before long a large mob was formed and and he ducked into the crowd as it charged out of the entrance.

We pulled a new vial out of my coat and tied it to one of Reaver's little spears as he came up behind us in the fog. He hefted the spear and we used the drone's view to help calculate his aim. From the Butcher's memories, Spree liked to stay in the center of the mob. I kept Reaver hidden in the fog and we charged forward right into the Spree mob while screaming as loud as we could with the help of the stolen T1's body parts.

All around us the clones began to stumble and fall from the effects of the virus and Dissonance's power. We aimed low and plowed through the legs of the mob. Their sheer numbers stalled our charge, but the virus was keeping us from being swarmed. The drone finally spotted where fresh clones were shooting out and I had Reaver throw his spear. A few clones stared up as it soared overhead.

His aim was a little off and the spear went through the leg of one of the clones near the original but it didn't have to be precise. The vial broke and my modified elephantiasis began to spread around the area. The skin around the clones arms and legs began to thicken, and the affected body parts began to swell to abnormally large size. A few new clones shot out from the same area but they had the same swollen limbs. They fell to the ground and struggled to get up.

The clones all around me had mostly fallen thanks to the virus and the rest of the clones still standing wouldn't be that way for long as we kept screaming. We were almost where Spree was when Forearmed's power gave us another warning. We darted to the side as clone bodies began to shoot out like bullets straight out us.

The drone switched views and we could see colored bands of light on the ground in front of the fallen Spree. The bands were helping to accelerate the clones as they came out of Spree to the point it seemed like they were being shot out like a cannon. The drones switched views and we could Skidmark holding what looked like binoculars from the center of the pitfight on top of one of Rebar's fields. All around him were the rest of the parahumans of the Teeth who he was talking quietly down to.

 _"Could the Butcher have warned him about what we could do?" Forearmed quizzed.  
_

 _"Thankfully there aren't too many parahumans. Hopefully most of them were hit by the virus bomb or left." Dissonance said._

We had Reaver charge out from the fog and Spree stopped firing as he came up behind us. The drone zoomed in and showed him react with shock as Reaver passed right by us and we moved behind him so we could use him for cover. Spree got over his shock quickly and began to shoot clones at Reaver as fast as he could make them. Reaver's body was struck over and over with the bodies of Sprees but he was strong enough to take it though he was going to be badly bruised. But there were so many Spree clones being fired that it was slowing us down. So instead we had him grab one of my spiders that had tucked itself into a ball and he threw it so it landed right next to the fallen Spree.

Spree saw what it was and kept flinging bodies at us while he pulled a pistol out to shoot at it. But the spider launched a dart that hit him in the throat before he had a chance to fire. He cursed as he fell back paralyzed. The spider climbed over him and wasted no time in removing his eyes. We made it to the entrance just as Rebar's fields began to form above us again.

We easily dodged the fields, but most of my spiders and Reaver were too slow. They were smashed hard against the ground and a glance at Reaver told me most of his bones were broken, so we released control of him and left him where he was. We were far too fast to be hit by the fields and they were little more than an annoyance. We picked up the one remaining spider still holding Spree's eyes which scampered onto our back as we picked it up.

Rebar changed tactics and a massive field as big as a garage door began to form in front of us. We coiled and jumped just as it shot forward. We barely tucked in our tail in time as the long field formed beneath us. We landed on top of it and accelerated past the entrance were the drone could see Teeth packed together.

A large red field formed over Skidmark and the few other parahumans as we got closer. But the drone could spot them leaving two of their number outside of it. They were strangely dressed even for the Teeth and looked like they had stopped out of a 50's better homes and gardens catalog. A old fashioned housewife wearing tall pumps, a short bob cut, and bright red lipstick was holding hands with a man in a old fashioned hat and suit. The only thing that marked them as Teeth were the red face paint over their faces. That had to be Fog and Night. Both were former 88 members who were captured and turned to work for the Teeth by the Butcher.

Fog could become a living mist, with solidity varying depending on his wishes and the ability to erode living matter. While unseen, Night transformed into a horrifying monster. Her second form had enhanced speed, strength, and durability.

Fog saw us coming and changed into his mist form and spread in front of Skidmark and the others hiding them and Night from view. At the same time tiny razor sharp forcefields began to form all around the outside of the mist courtesy of Vex. Her fields weren't that strong but there were more and more of them being formed as I watched.

 _"Night is very powerful. I have seen her put claw marks in concrete and she can move like a speedster if no one is watching," Forearmed proclaimed.  
_

 _"There isn't enough time to install Spree's eyes," I remarked.  
_

 _"Then we just need more eyes. Or people who can keep watching her for us," Dissonance surmised.  
_

We slithered over to a few Teeth on the ground who seemed to mark the edge of the virus bomb's fallout and picked them up. They were shaking in pain and the hallucinations from the virus probably made my mask seem scarier than normal. The spider on my back climbed over and reached its arms toward their faces, when a sudden smoke grenade was thrown out of Fog's mist. We cursed and dropped them as we backed away from the smoke. Night was too fast and dangerous for us to waste time removing the eyelids of the Teeth and bringing them with us.

More of Skidmark's colored bands of light were appearing on the ground to help spread the smoke and Fog was moving slowly to the left side to flank us. We sped toward the right side away from Fog to go around Vex's fields and the smoke, but more of Rebar's fields slammed down to block us and they thickened somehow to help block view of Night.

Their barrier wasn't perfect though, and the drone caught a glimpse of Night's other form as she ran around trying to get in front of me. It seems she did show up on electronics as long as no one was actively watching her. It was an unclear and blurry image but it was long and black, with far too many insect like legs.

We could hear her moving and see her shape with the echolocation from the T1's body parts. We focused on her shape and let loose with the original Butcher's ability to induce pain.

Her alien form jolted a bit and rapidly moved side to side, but it didn't seem to really affect her much. But we kept on focusing pain onto her and it was beginning to make her very agitated. She tried to tough it out for several minutes before she suddenly charged at us out of the smoke. Forearmed's power showed us a flash of danger and we put the T1's arms up as Night struck us us and we jumped back to lessen the impact.

We went soaring back and rolled upright. Luckily the T1's arms had absorbed most of the impact. They could still move them but the bones were broken. The pain had done its job, Night had ran at us to make it stop and exposed herself to the prone Teeth looking at her. We brought another wave of pain as she fell down and screamed. I focused on her screaming and used Dissonance's power to wretch the sound waves to keep her down.

We moved fast to try and grab Night before Fog could cover her. Fog's mist managed to partially cover her but we were faster and managed to grab her leg and pull. We dragged her behind us near another of the prone Teeth who were warned to keep watching her or we would flay them alive.

We pulled another vial from our coat and forced it into her mouth as we opened it. The modified tapeworms inside the vial crawled out and down her throat. She struggled so we knocked her out with a gas we emitted from a small and hidden vent in our hand.

 _"It is a long shot that she won't transform with them growing inside her thanks to the Manton effect. Once people's eyes are off of her she could regain consciousness," they both observed._

 _"What should we do then?" I asked.  
_

 _"You know what we should do."_

 _"I am not killing her."_

 _"Don't be an idiot girl. She is a broken piece of trash the world would be better off without."_

Our hands shot forward and clasped around her throat.

Rage exploded within me and for just a moment I felt myself alone with my thoughts as I dropped Night back down and left her behind.

 _"I DO NOT KILL. Never do that again."_

Our danger sense pinged and we jumped to the side as Rebar's fields again slammed down. This time they were long and thin rods and there were a lot more of them than before. The drone spotted movement on them and our sound waves made out a gelatinous figure that was moving quickly across Rebar's fields like a demented monkey.

 _"That is Skinslip. He can manipulate his own skin and regenerate. He can extend this ability by flaying people and stitching or stapling their skin to his own," Forearmed pointed out._

"I know."

 _"Well than you know that he regularly murders more people to replace his skin as his own slowly rots. He gets away more people die. Or are you going let him live to?"_

 _"I will take care of it."_

We dodged another of Rebar's fields and climb up it like a snake with startling speed. The drone focuses on Skinslip and and reveals a disgusting creature. His skin is a patchwork of different colors and we can already see part of it slowly rotting at the edges. It has bunched up and spread out from his back to anchor itself on two of Rebars fields leaving his hands free to handle grenades. But we had moved too fast to give him time to prime and throw any of them.

He moves toward us and we scream as loud as we can while simultaneously twisting the sound waves of our voice. He begins to fall over and drops the grenade but his skin keeps him upright and attached to the fields. This makes it easy for us to tackle him into the air as Rebar starts to take away the fields holding us up.

We land hard on to the ground and Skinslip bears most of the force of the fall but it was a far softer landing than anticipated. He pushed his skin out to help absorb most of it despite the nausea he must be feeling.

 _"Why aren't you using the virus?" Dissonance chided.  
_

 _"I don't have it in my blood stream. I have it located in special container in my body. I'm already out."_

We pull another vial out as his skin shoots out to cover and tighten around us. I am too strong for him to crush, but he is still tries to smother me.

We inject the vial and he suddenly starts to scream. We take his scream and twist the sound to cause him to falter again but he keeps holding fast despite continuing to scream. We inject over and over again and spread more of our modified necrotizing fasciitis throughout the layers of his skin. We are patient as he eventually lets us go and keels over.

We pull out another vial as he thrashes in pain on the ground. We use our tail to hold him down and pour the eggs from inside down his ear canal. Once the parasites hatch, they will focus on eating his bones. Even if he is a regenerator, they will keep eating and making more of themselves as the bones regrow. I had been careful to make sure they wouldn't spread out of the body they are put in when I first made them, and there is no danger of death or pain. Just bones so brittle they might as well be made of glass.

The drone showed Fog approaching us from behind but we can easily avoid him. He is dangerous but he is too slow to catch us. Up head we can see Mush turn tail and run as he spots what is happening to Skinslip's skin and decide to let him go. Our main concern is Skidmark.

We zip back toward where Rebar had protected him but can't see him or any of the other parahumans. Just more and more prone and screaming bodies of the Teeth hit by the virus. The drone zooms out to look for him when we suddenly lose connection to it.

 _"They're here."_

The ground begins to rumble as if something heavy is coming, but we still hear anything or feel anything as we let out more soundwaves from our body. We get another flash and we dodge to the side as gunfire starts to hit all around us. Several Teeth on the ground nearby us are killed as more heavy guns open up to sweep at us.

We jump and dive using Forearmed's power to avoid the lines of fire as we speed away with the bullets tracking us. Despite the heavy firepower, we still can't hear where it is coming from.

 _"Squealer is using the same tech she used to hide the pit fight. Her vehicle cloaks sound and sight. We won't be able to affect her until we are close to it."_

We take cover behind Fog's mist and the gunfire focuses on Fog. Our speed and reflexes are good enough to dodge the lines of fire with Forearmed's power's warning. But the gunfire is unrelenting and we won't last forever.

The moment we think that is when it finally happens. We simply couldn't move fast enough to dodge everything even with Forearmed's warning.

We immediately curl into a ball as we are hammered with gunfire and Fog moves away to give them a clear view of us. Our body is tough enough as a Brute that it won't kill us right away but we feel our body taking damage and being slowly shredded before the gunfire finally stops to reload.

We rise quickly despite the damage and rush straight toward the direction the gunfire came from. We only have moments before the gunfire resumes. I pull out another vial that is full of metal eating bacteria that can work very quickly.

 _"You only have one shot," Dissonance observed.  
_

 _"Thank you Captain Obvious," Forearmed smirked.  
_

We hear a low rumble in the ground and use Dissonance's power to give us the general direction. The rumbling gets higher as the hidden vehicle starts speeding toward us.

Forearmed gives us another warning and we have ample time to move to the side as the vehicle comes into our awareness as it passes by us.

We are surprised to get another warning and we put the T1's broken arms up as a large arrow pierces through the palm all the way to the elbow. We let out another sound wave and spot the Butcher perched on a tree with a large bow.

They see us looking at straight at them and immediately vanish. I can't get a good sense of their face with just echolocation, but the S.C.I.O.N. suggested fear from the body language.

 _"Ignore them. Focus on the vehicle."_

Squealer's vehicle was a massive thing that was as big as three 18 wheelers stuck together. Covering it were huge machine guns with Teeth manning them and they turned their guns back toward us. Most likely they were going to get far enough away so that Dissonance's power could be blocked with Squealer's tech. But they never got a chance.

A massive earthen fist came out of the ground and grabbed one of the over sized wheels causing it to flip on its side with a massive noise that I twist to mess with Squealer inside. The Teeth on top manning the guns are thrown off into the brush. Two even more massive earthen arms slowly appear underneath the vehicle and raise it into the air.

A loud and very familiar voice was shouting, "Here we come to save the day,". We turned and released sound waves that bounced back showing the Undersiders as well as Epoch coming out of the woods nearby riding Bitch's dogs. Golem had both of his arms deep into the ground behind them. Pyrotechnical dropped down and waved at us when she saw us looking.

She grabbed and unhooked her oversized rifle, and fired into Fog's approaching mist. There was a small bright purple flame before the entire cloud lit up and Fog fell to the ground in his normal form coughing. She fired a second shot that exploded and threw him head over heels into a tree. We thought he was dead but we could faintly hear his heartbeat.

"I always keep my promises," Grue said from the radio. "Epoch keep the Butcher out of the fight as soon as you see her, Pyro keep their heads down. Faust I strongly suggest you join us so we can get the hell out of here."

 _"Tell them to look above!" Forearmed stormed.  
_

 _"What? We don't sense anything."_

 _"The Butcher will ambush them right now when they can't see them and they have the element of surprise."_

"Grue above you. Ambush," we shouted into the radio.

A loud explosion signaled the Butcher appearing over the Undersiders with a arrow notched. She slammed down onto Grue and the dog while letting loose an arrow at empty space. Seconds later there was a scream as Imp appeared with an arrow through her chest.

Epoch turned to look before Bitch's dog suddenly convulsed from the Butcher using her pain power on it. The dog bucked and fell over but Epoch managed to rewind Grue back to where he was several second ago in the air.

"Imp!," Grue screamed as he dropped down. The plates on his mask showed an angry snarl as he charged the Butcher with his costume's spikes out. Bitch siced her dogs at the Butcher and Regent waved his hand at her but she suddenly disappeared.

We raced toward the Undersiders as the Butcher reappeared with an explosion in the center of them that threw them all back except for Grue who dived low to the ground at her feet with his armor somehow helping to weather the shockwave. She grabbed Epoch from behind just as Grue grabbed her legs and they all disappeared again just as we got close.

We ignored the others as rushed toward Imp who we could hear gurgling on her own blood. We pulled out a few tools from our coat and gave her something for the pain as we started operating immediately.

"Is she going to be okay?" Regent asked worried as he stood next to us looking down.

"She has a punctured lung and two broken ribs from the arrow, but it missed her heart. Easily fixable," we said as we stripped her costume off.

"Epoch should be able to deal with the Butcher," Pyrotechnical said firing at the few retreating Teeth left in the area. "He can freeze and rewind her without too much trouble once he has her in his sights."

That is when we heard an inhuman shriek came out not too far away south of us. We all turned out heads toward the source of the sound.

"Was that the Butcher?" Golem asked.

"Yeah, but I've never heard her make a sound like that," Pyrotechnical said.

We ignored their banter and kept on working on Imp. Forearmed's power would warn us if the Butcher tried anything and she wouldn't dare appear next to us after what happened the last time. Though we were curious ourselves about what could make the Butcher scream like that.

We removed the arrow, disinfected the wound, and closed Imp up while keeping her mask on. Thanks to the S.C.I.O.N., we were able to focus and clear my head of distractions now that we were sitting still and not fighting. Dissonance's power made us very aware of the moaning and screaming of the Teeth littering the ground from my viruses.

Regent was the first one to spot Grue and Epoch walking from the across the field. We turned and wished we still had eyes or a drone as they were too far away to get a clear picture of. We focused on the general area of their waves and we could hear Grue and Epoch walking slowly and what sounded like Epoch supporting Grue.

-What happened- we asked Epoch through his implant.

-I was keeping the Butcher grounded and Grue stabbed her eyes out when she unfroze, but she said and did something to Grue. I don't really remember what happened but I think he had a 2nd trigger event. He doesn't know what exactly happened either but one moment his darkness covered all of us and the next the Butcher was shrieking as she was thrown out-

We made more waves of sound as Grue got near us and studied the image. His costume was a little worse for wear, but largely intact. We were surprised that he was completely uninjured. Not so much as a broken bone.

"Is Imp okay?" he asked as he kneeled down next to her.

"Yes, she is fine," Pyrotechnical replied.

 _"She is a Thinker of some kind going by your memories."_

 _"Now who is Captain Obvious?"_

Grue seemed weary despite having no real injuries as he turned back to me. "Are you okay?"

The S.C.I.O.N. ran a new diagnostic. The damage was bad, but nothing we couldn't fix with out too much trouble. We weren't in danger of dying anytime soon.

"We'll be fine."

"We?" he asked puzzled.

"Imp and I will be fine," we said covering our mistake.

"Then lets get the hell out of here. We put Lethe and the other hostage in our truck and took yours. It's not too far."

We nodded and politely declined riding Bitch's dogs. Her heartbeat suggested fear as we got closer to her but she didn't say anything. She probably told the Undersiders what happened with the Butcher. We took one last look at the clearing that littered in screaming, moaning, and prone Teeth and smiled.

* * *

I rode in silence. I had taken the time to remove my tail to make more room in the truck. I still had the broken T1 arms attached to my body because they were too awkward to operate on without my spiders. Forearmed and Dissonance were quiet and gone after I gave them access to the full memories I had taken from the Butcher. I assumed they were learning about who they really were. It felt weird being alone with my thoughts again.

Regent was fussing over Imp, who was still out cold. He had taken his coat off and bunched it up for a makeshift pillow. Golem and Pyrotechnical were conversing with Epoch about the Butcher. Bitch was in a corner with her dogs, and was still staring at me. I could make out the shape of Grue as he took off Imp's mask and checked on her pulse before telling Regent to look after her.

"She will be fine, I promise," I said as he sat down across from me. The S.C.I.O.N. was able to get a good read on his body language, which confirmed that he was still shaking a little and breathing hard. Second triggers were incredibly rare, and I was a little surprised that I hadn't been able to observe or steal any of his memories. I wasn't sure if he still had to be afraid of me. That seemed to be the catalyst for stealing memories from parahumans. Though Dissonance and Forearmed's presence might have changed how it works. His new power could have made him immune.

-Do you think he is a Brute now?- Epoch asked through our implants. -The Butcher went flying pretty hard out of his darkness-

-Possible but I'm not so sure. The resulting powers from trigger events can be affected by the parahumans around the person who triggered. There are a variety of powers that he could have pinged off of-

-Knowing Grue, he will keep it under wraps for as long as he can. Are you going to give him territory? He is a good guy and he did come back to save you even if you didn't seem to need the help-

"I will keep my promise," I said out loud to the Undersiders. "Once the docks are mine we can negotiate borders."

Grue nodded and Pyrotechnical came to sit beside him and started tapping his costume. I was puzzled before I realized she had figured out that I could hear them easily.

"For what it is worth, you have my thanks," I said. "But we have something else to discuss."

"I think we are about even," Grue said wearily. "All Bitch gave us was your name. Epoch knows my face and I think you could probably make a clone from Imp's DNA to find out what she looks like. I will not try to figure out who you are if you do the same."

"That sounds fair. Do you know what happened to the Butcher?"

"It was just like you said when we planned this attack," Pyrotechnical said taking off her helmet to reveal that she was wearing the same small mask as before. "The Butcher can read memories, and I think she said and did something to help hurt Grue which caused him to have a 2nd trigger. Too bad for her that his new power was too much for her and she retreated. "

"You are still going to come after us despite helping you, aren't you?" Golem asked a little angrily.

I held up two of my hands in a friendly gesture. "I am not an idiot. I realize I will never be able to completely eradicate all crime, and the city is better off with villains like you instead of the other gangs. But I am a hero, and you are villains. We will probably come to blows at some point if we both survive long enough. But I greatly appreciate what you did, so I want to make you an offer."

"An offer?" Grue said skeptically.

"She wants us to work for her," Pyrotechnical said surprised.

"NO," Grue said forcefully as he stared at my face.

"Hear me out. I will pay each of you $50,000 a week plus any extra expenses that come up. I can upgrade your bodies in a variety of ways, and I guarantee you will live several decades longer."

-I make you the same offer- I said to Epoch.

"Did you hear that Regent," Golem called to the back of the truck.

"Yeah, I heard," Regent said getting up to walk forward. He crossed his arms as he closer.

Bitch and Regent's heart rate had become more animated but I was sad to see that they were the only ones. Was money not that important to them?

"How much would it take?" I finally said. "I think we can make a real difference in this city if we work together."

"Look Faust," Grue said with his mask's plates switching to give it a serious face. "It's a very generous offer but we have to decline. We formed because of our boss and he has treated us right in the past, and to be frank I think you won't last. You are moving way too fast and scaring people. The PRT is going to come down hard on you when they aren't distracted."

"Normally I would say yes in a heartbeat," Pyrotechnical said "But I can't risk it because of certain circumstances. Sorry. Though I disagree with Grue. I think you will last longer than the other gangs at least."

"I trust Grue," Golem said. "He hasn't steered us wrong yet and you are too chaotic and wild. You may have won here, and you might even beat Lung and take the docks. But you have made too many enemies. The Empire and the Teeth are probably planning how to fight you at this very moment with their full force and they know your capabilities now. You won't have the element of surprise anymore and they can plan based off of your previous actions."

Grue turned to look back at Imp. "I speak for Imp. She says no."

"Regent?" I asked looking up at him a little disappointed.

"Nah, I have to say no too. I think working for you could be fun, but I ain't a hero. I want a easy life and I can't get that always picking fights."

I turned to Bitch who had been silent this whole time. I remembered the vivid memories I had copied and thought about what to say to her. Bitch didn't really care about herself or money at all. She only cared about the safety and well being of her dogs. Money only mattered in so much that it can be used to help her dogs.

"Bitch, I offer the same thing to you, but I also promise more. I offer free vet care, and your dogs will live twice their average lifespan."

"Bitch," Grue said. "We have a good thing going here, and she is going to cause trouble in the future."

"I'm not afraid of trouble," Bitch said as she got up and petted her dogs. "Keep talking".

"Hookwolf once fought in the pit fights to prove himself. He still organizes dog fights in this city. I promise I will make dealing with him a priority. Every dog will be saved, and every single fucker that goes to those fights will wish they had never been born when I am done. Hookwolf especially."

"But I want to make one thing clear," I said standing up. I was taller than her and her heart rate showed she was scared but she stood her ground. "You agree to this, you work for me. That means absolutely no killing of any kind, and you don't harm a hair on anyone's head without my say so. Agreed?"

Bitch stood there silent before looking back her dogs who perked their heads up. "Fuck it," she said turning to go back to her dogs. "I'll do it. But you better keep your promise."

I walked behind her. "Let me take a quick examination of your dogs." Bitch no Rachel did not so much as look at the other Undersiders, but they didn't seem that surprised or shook up about her decision.

-Epoch?-

-I wouldn't mind the money, and I would love to team up. But I don't work for anyone. I'm a lone wolf-

-Fair enough. Do you think Phoenix would say yes?-

-She is homeless so I am fairly certain she would-

-She's homeless?- I just barely kept myself from looking back at him. -Why didn't she say anything?-

-It isn't my place to say. She knows my identity and we came to an agreement about what we say to you about each other. Just be careful of Phoenix okay. She is a lot crazier than she presents herself-

-What does that mean?-

-Sorry, I've learned that I talk too much as it is-

"Bitch works for me now," I called over to the Undersiders as I examined one of the dogs missing an eye. "If she changes her mind, or you mess with her in any way, I will consider it an attack, and the deal is off."

"Aren't rescued damsels supposed to be grateful? Course, she's got all the reptilian parts. Maybe it didn't count," Regent muttered.

"I appreciate the help, but I had the situation well in hand. You will get everything we agreed on, you have my word."

Grue said nothing, instead turning back to check on Imp.

We rode to the drop-off point in silence.

* * *

I was exhausted as I finally stepped through a new hidden side door of the hotel that Sierra had suggested I install. The assistant Lusus in the lab suddenly straightened and prepared my operating equipment to fix my body. I had a few spare eyes somewhere made from a few of my past cloning experiments.

Connecting to my assistants, I became aware of Sierra and Charlotte sitting in my control center on my newly furnished chairs and sofa. Charlotte is sitting curled up in a ball while holding a large cup of tea. Sierra is pacing back and forth before suddenly stopping as she sees the assistants moving in the dark.

-Faust?- she said with touch of hope.

-Yeah, it's me. I should be down in a few minutes- I said as I carefully avoided the traps in the hallway. The hidden staircase opens automatically as I approach it.

-Thank god. Are you okay?-

-My body is badly damaged but nothing I can't fix or replace without too much trouble. How is Charlotte?-

-She is scared because I am basically keeping her prisoner. I told her she couldn't leave until you get back but that we were just going to erase her memory. She uh, told me about you. Sorry-

-It's fine. I was going to tell you anyway and you can't tell anyone my secrets. Unfortunately I can't erase her memory anymore-. I connect to the Yawn waiting at the bottom of the stairs and move to a smaller surgical suite on the side of the lab. I activate one of my advanced decoys that I used to take my place at home. It moved out to greet Sierra and Charlotte while I repaired my real body.

I started removing my clothes to give greater access to the spiders as I sat up on the operating table. The spiders activate from around suite as I disconnect from Yawn and it moves away. I take direct control of the spiders and start to disinfect my body. Thanks to my new skin, I am much more resistant to infection than ever before, but it's better to be safe then sorry considering the vials I used tonight.

-So what are you going to do?- Sierra asked.

-I will talk to her-. Sierra nodded in the direction of my real body and Charlotte looked up afraid as Sierra told her I was here. She walked out into the darkness and passed the decoy who she ignored. Though she did request access to the decoy's senses and I let her listen in. Charlotte jumped and spilled tea everywhere as it came out of the dark.

"I apologize for scaring you Charlotte," I said through the decoy's mouth. It quickly took the mask off revealing my face. It turned to sit opposite of Charlotte and I sent for a few of my assistant models to retrieve napkins from the kitchen.

"I'm getting you some napkins now, and I have some spare clothes for you. Though they will be a little big on you. I always was taller than most of the students in school."

"That's okay," she said wiping the tea off. She seemed to be deliberately not meeting my eyes. No wonder considering what she must have seen me do to myself.

"Charlotte, I have a few options I can run by you about what we can do."

"You don't have to do anything," she said shifting position and still not meeting my eyes.

"Charlotte look at my face." She reluctantly looks up at me. "You and I both know this is very serious. Bitch isn't going to be a problem anymore, but you still know who I am."

"She isn't a problem?" she said. She just deflated completely, almost collapsing in on herself. Her head just hung low and I felt another stab of guilt.

"NO," I said a little to loudly as I moved forward and grabbed her hands, which caused her to jump again. "Charlotte, I am a hero. It is not what you think. I will never hurt you or any other innocent person. I managed to convince Bitch to work for me instead of being a villain."

I can see Sierra visibly turn to look at my real body at that. -I made her an offer and I didn't have a choice. Besides she had a shitty deal and her crimes were an accident-

-I didn't say anything-

-You were thinking it-

-Do you think she can work with us?-

-I think so. I have too much to offer her that she will find useful-

I can visibly see the tension just evaporate as she looked at the decoy's face. She got teary eyed again as she gave it another hug. I make sure the decoy is gentle as I hugged her back with it. "I guess you always were a hero considering the video," she said. "Thank you for helping me."

"Don't mention it. Has Lethe looked over your injuries?"

"Yes, the spiders scanned me and sprayed something on my cuts."

-I still haven't shared some basic medical knowledge with you have I?- I said to Sierra.

-No you haven't. You can do that?-

-Yes my tech allows me to share knowledge and skills between different people with implants. You won't be a tinker or anything, but I think you will be qualified for basic medical care-

"Are you going to erase my memory like Lethe said?" she asked while letting go from me.

I sighed. "No, that is no longer an option. I can prevent new memories from forming, but you have passed the time limit. I theoretically could erase your knowledge but it isn't an exact science and every brain is different. You could lose all of your memories and be completely amnesiac if I attempted it."

"So what are you going to do?"

"Well there are few things I can try. I can just give you some money and ask you to go somewhere else away from my enemies."

"My mom and Zaydee would never leave. This is our home. If I told them why, they might find out who you are. I'm not a good liar."

"Then, how about your work for me? I can upgrade people through my tech and one of these upgrades include brain implants that make people think faster, and improve cognitive abilities. I can also make it so you physically can't tell anyone who I am."

She looks skeptical but the S.C.I.O.N. shows she is at least semi open to the idea. "Will it hurt?"

"No it's completely painless. I can give you a few other upgrades that are very useful. I can also customize whatever you want. New hair or some body work, any old injuries will be fixed, whatever you want done."

"What would I be doing?"

"You would never be fighting. The Lusus do all of the fighting for us. You would be assisting me with managing certain things in my lab, and whatever you are comfortable with doing. You can also choose not to work with me. Once the implant is in, you can go on with your life barring an occasional check up by me. "

"You're going to keep fighting villains though right?"

"Yes, I am going to keep fighting villains. Our plan is the same as it always was, and is the same goal for every hero. I am going to take over this city and turn, capture, or force out every single criminal and villain. Permanently. The Teeth will never hold a pit fight in Brockton again after what we did to them tonight."

Charlotte removed her hands from mine and scrunched them into fists on her knees. She looked down and was silent. "Can I ask you something personal first," she asked.

"Of course."

"How did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"How did you come back from it all? I saw that video like everyone did in school. I saw what you went through every day, but you never let it any of it bother you. You always held your head up high, and you came back stronger than ever."

"It did bother me. I'm not going to lie to you Charlotte, it still affects me today and will continue to affect me for some time to come. But I also let it inspire me. It continues to motivate me to help others. Our city is broken Charlotte. There are so many people that are hurt and afraid. But I swear to you that I am doing my damndest to fix that."

She looks me straight in the eyes with a look of determination. "I'll do it."

"Very well, welcome to my world," I said holding out my hand. She shook it and a moment later fell over unconscious from the gas it emitted from the hand.

-You drugged me the same way didn't you?- Sierra asked.

-I did. Instead of worrying or feeling anxious about surgery I simply let you fall unconscious with a special gas I can emit from my hand. By the time you woke up it was all finished with no fuss-

-Do you think she will be alright?-

-I wish I knew. I'm afraid mental health and healing is not my specialty. I am going to pay for a very good therapist and trauma counselor though-

-Considering this city, you should probably put several on retainer- Sierra said as she walked toward the real me being operated on.

-Let me get a screen Sierra to block out the surgery- I said to her as she walked up.

-I am long past caring about a little blood Faust- she said walking up. -I put a piece of my costume over your eyes when you gouged them out you know-

I frown at that. -I'm sorry you had to go through that Sierra-

-Are you sure it is wise for Charlotte to work with us?- she asked as she stood in front of me.

-She will be fine. She won't be doing anything like what you have done, and having some extra help could be useful in some ways. Thank you for staying with her. I know you are worried about your brother. The Undersiders have called the authorities and you should be getting a call soon about him-

-I haven't gotten a call yet, but PHO already knows about what you did-

-What we did Sierra. I told you I keep my promises-

-Thank you again. For everything-

-Don't mention it-. I visibly took a deep breath. -But I expect you have questions. I will try to answer them to the best of my ability-

-What are you really? You aren't an ordinary parahuman. Only the Simurgh can read minds but it was much more than that. You were actively fighting the Butcher somehow-

-I will tell you, but I ask that you stay silent and let me finish before you say or ask anything. If you want out of our deal, I will completely understand-

-Okay-

So I told her everything while relaying video and audio to her implants. I told her about my bullying and my mother's death causing me to trigger. I told her about my desire to be a hero and my desperate plan to clone the Butcher. She visibly gasped at that. But she still didn't' say anything.

I told her about my secret fears of going insane and almost killing the Teeth. I told her of Dissonance and Forearmed and what we did the Butcher.

When I was finished, she didn't say anything for a long time. She simply stood there listening with her mask keeping me from seeing her facial expressions.

After a few minutes she sat down on the operating table in front of me. "You are simultaneously the most inspiring and terrifying person I have ever met," she said removing her mask. Her hair was matted and she was covered in sweat. Her mask didn't create oxygen like mine did.

"I want you to know that I do consider you a hero, and you have made the city a better place. But I almost wish that I never went up to the roof."

"Why?"

"Because you are so damn dangerous to the world Faust. The Butcher, the real one, is just a stupid fucking animal and look at the damage she has done. But you, who people are calling the next Nilbog? Who figured out a way to become a new Butcher and who terrifies the old one? What would happen if you went bad Faust? Tell me honestly. I know more than anyone else in the world how you think. I know you have thought about what would you would do."

I close my eyes and the S.C.I.O.N. helps to keep me calm. She was completely right. I had given it far too much thought. "I would probably start with a disease or a easily spread virus. Something that is fatal only weeks after the fact so carriers could spread it far and wide with a close to 99% lethality. I would start cloning parahumans intelligent enough to have trigger events that would be indoctrinated to be loyal to me or would have a kill switch in case they ever turned against me."

"That would be just the start. Hybrid clones experiments would be next. Hybrid clones of Spree and Lung as an example. Several Panacea clones would make my Lusus self replicating. My first target would be the PRT crime labs where they keep most of the DNA of any parahuman the PRT encounter."

Sierra is shaking as I keep talking. "I would strike there first before they realized what I was truly capable of. Teleporters would spread my army and make it impossible to contain. My next target would be the birdcage for specific parahumans to clone. Teacher clones could help push my parahumans to further limits, and String Theories to build weapons capable of knocking the moon out of orbit. I would try to limit my casualties until I was ready to face Scion. If I killed too many too quickly Scion could conceivably stop me. At that point I would attack with everything I had. Even if Scion stopped me, the world wouldn't survive the fallout."

"If I somehow survived, I would use clones of professor Haywire to try and go to another world to start over again."

Sierra had a look of shock and fear on her face. I placed my hands over hers and she didn't shake them off. "You don't have to stay Sierra. You have your brother back. Just go home and forget about all of this," I said.

She shakes my hand off and stares at me angrily. "Don't give me that shit. How could I possibly leave knowing what I do now? I know how you think. If you thought of using someone like me to watch your actions, you would have a back up plan in case you went rogue. What is it?"

"I call it code black. Hidden away are certain hybrid and Butcher clones. A message would go towards Panacea and Grue telling them everything and where the clones are. If they choose to kill the clones they will become Butchers just like me for the specific purpose of killing me. Panacea could counter any disease or virus I could make and with Grue's help might be able to stop me if it is early enough."

"How do you know you won't destroy it?"

"I erased the location from my mind. The S.C.I.O.N. gives me far more control over my mind than anyone else. The only people who can find the place are Grue and Panacea. Considering messages would also go out to the PRT, I would only have minutes before Eidolon, Alexandria, and Legend were in the city trying to kill me."

We sit silently for a few other moments. "I don't know what to say," I finally said.

"I lied you know," Sierra finally said.

"About what?"

"I don't wish I had never gone up on that roof that night. I'm scared about what you could do to the world, but I trust you. If you'll still have me, I would love to keep being Lethe."

"I wouldn't trust anyone else to watch my brain."

She gives me a quick hug before going to help me move Charlotte without saying a word.

* * *

I finally sit exhausted under a sun lamp. I usually stripped down completely for the UV rays, but I wasn't comfortable with being naked around Dissonance and Forearmed yet. It had been quite a day, but I still had so much to do.

I had to do a few tests on the recent changes to my body and my new powers. I wanted to figure out exactly how I absorbed memories and the limits for my danger sense.

I had a few ideas for how to use Charlotte and Bitch. Bitch was relatively easy to work with. She had very simple goals, and I was already planning to hit Hookwolf anyway. That was the nice thing about Nazis; you could do absolutely anything to them and no one would care. That made them good lab rats for a few experiments.

Hookwolf was one of the 88's heavy hitters, and attacking him while he was isolated was just good strategy.

There were a few things I wanted to test with Bitch's powers. I was confident she could control her dogs much better if I implanted them all and gave her administration access. I was curious about what animals she could effect with her power. If I upgraded her dogs in their normal form, would their transformed stage be tougher? What if I added a few genes of other animals?

At the very least, I wanted to help Bitch. I remembered the sheer terror she felt the day she triggered. The terror and her loneliness. I knew more than anyone what that felt like.

Charlotte was a bit harder to figure out. I wasn't sure how much help she would be. At the very least having an extra mind to keep watch when I wasn't in the docks could be useful. She was currently recovering from the surgery where I installed a simple implant to ensure her silence. Once I had time I would upgrade her however she wanted. Sierra had left to go see her brother after Pyrotechnical had given me a call to one of the throwaway phone numbers I had given her.

Grue and the Undersiders were complicated. I had given them a chance to turn their coats and made a very generous offer that they refused. I intended to keep my word, and they would share some territory with me. But I was going to take them down if they ever crossed the line. The fact that Grue knew my first name and could maybe guess my age range wasn't too worrying.

I had skipped all of Winslow's picture days thanks to Emma, so they wouldn't be able to find me that way. My name was a bit famous thanks to the video but no one had a picture of me. I wasn't listed in a phone book, and I knew from experience that Dragon helped with the medical records security as villains had tried to use them to find out hero's identities. No what was very worrying had been Grue's second trigger.

The Butcher was afraid of me, but the Butcher had literally shrieked at whatever Grue had done to her. The fact that his darkness could block my signals to the Lusus, and now he had a new power made me cautious. I didn't care what his reputation was, I was wary of the bastard.

I had managed to gain a sample of Imps DNA. It wouldn't take any time to make a clone to see her face and keep scanning for it in the docks. I wouldn't do that unless the Undersiders crossed the line. While the unwritten rules seemed geared more toward villains than heroes, I didn't want to risk breaking them. At least for now.

I still had an hour before I had to head back home though I had to be careful. Hannah had ended up spending the night. I knew they had a physical relationship but I was a little uncomfortable knowing about it. The drone over my house had confirmed that she had just left. Most likely the PRT had gotten the call about the attack on the pit fight.

Going over the fight again had been eye opening in more ways than one. Looking over the data had been disquieting to watch. I had been uncharacteristically vicious with the Teeth. Removing eyes, fusing spiders to spines, and the only reason I hadn't removed the eyelids of several prone Teeth near me when fighting Night, had been the lack of spiders and time. It was only now hitting me how much my life was going to change now that Forearmed and Dissonance were a part of me.

I had would have to revamp the S.C.I.O.N. again. I wasn't sure if my recent viciousness was due the additional shards need for conflict or Forearmed and Dissonance wanting revenge on the Teeth. But I wouldn't kill anyone and there would be no more fighting in person. Once the server was upgraded my range would be large enough that I wouldn't have to get close to control them.

Dissonance and Forearmed were still silent. They had been quiet the last few hours, looking over their stolen memories that I had taken back from the Butcher. I could have watched their memories with them, but the next few hours with them distracted would probably be the closest thing to privacy I would have from now on. I was uncomfortable thinking about them watching as I took a shower or went to the bathroom.

 _"Wow, that is a depressing thought," Forearmed joked.  
_

 _"Girl, you have nothing we haven't seen before."_

 _"Strangely that doesn't make me feel better. How are you two doing? Is my head a little better than Quarrel's?"_

 _"It's a lot livelier, though your sense of aesthetics is strange," Dissonance opined.  
_

 _"He means your animals are freaky," Forearmed divulged.  
_

 _"Please, they're works of art. You two just have no concept of culture and beauty."_

 _"What is the next step of your plan?" Dissonance asked getting back to business.  
_

 _"The same plan as it always was. Grow stronger, and convert, capture or push out every villain in this city. But in the short term we prepare and build up our forces,"_ I said looking up at a map of the docks. _"Its time that Lung and the ABB realize that this is our territory."_

 _"We have something we need to discuss Taylor," Forearmed sighed.  
_

 _"Yes?"_ I said curiously _._

 _"You're putting on a brave face, but we know you are more freaked out about our presence than you want to admit. It's just now hitting you what having us means. Never having a moment of privacy, being unsure if your thoughts are your own, and if there will be more side effects," Forearmed pointed out.  
_

 _"That is true, but don't worry about it. I will get used to it."_

 _"Well, we have a solution for that problem," Forearmed said.  
_

 _"Really! What?"_

 _"We want you to let us die," Dissonance stated calmly.  
_

 _"What!" My mind reeled in shock._

 _"You do not want us girl, anymore than we want to be prisoners in your mind."_

 _"It is a much nicer and lively place, but it is still a prison."_

 _"But you would still be dead. I'm not going to murder two people, just for the sake of convenience! It will take some getting use to but any discomfort I feel is not worth you dying."_

 _"It isn't murder. You would just let us die," Forearmed offered.  
_

 _"That is fucking semantics, and you know it. I can look up your surviving family. You don't have die. Killing yourself is never the answer."_

Forearmed began to chuckle sadly. _"I already know what happened to my family. I lied to you when I said we don't remember. We remember everything, not matter how much we tried to forget. The Butcher did the same thing to us that it tried to do to you. I got to experience killing my family over and over."_

 _"Dissonance you can't be thinking the same thing. I'll work on something. Give me time, maybe I can figure out a way to give you new bodies."_

 _"No, I'm tired of fighting girl. Besides I know where I am going."_

 _"What do you mean?"_

 _"He used to be part of Haven. He thinks he is going to heaven," Forearmed revealed._

 _"You were part of Haven?"_

 _"I left because I was just like you are now. I was angry at this fucking broken world full of sinners that never gets better. I thought I was doing the lord's work and felt vindicated when I became the Butcher. I managed to keep control and I killed a few people to make the world a better place before Quarrel got me. I deserved being in her head as penance for my arrogance and my sins. But you saved me Taylor. Its time for me to go where I belong, I have someone I want to see again as well."_

 _"Who?"_

 _"My demon always was an ornery bastard. The Butcher didn't like my fighting to regain control so the collective made a special trip to break me. My wife's head is on the Butcher's trophy pole."_

 _"I'm sorry."_

 _"You of all people have nothing to be sorry for Taylor. You freed my soul and we know you better than anyone. I know you will end the Butcher. There is no doubt in my mind. I just want you to promise to look in on my daughter from time to time. I wanted her to live a normal life, but she joined Haven despite my wife and my protests. She always did have my stubbornness."_

 _"I will promise you anything if you promise to not just give up and die."_

 _"Don't worry, you will keep our powers," Forearmed stressed._

 _"I don't give a fuck about your powers! I am going to save everyone including you."_

 _"You already did my little beast queen."_

 _"I didn't save you two. You both saved me. You helped me remember who I am and why I do this.."_

 _"We've made up our minds. You can already feel us trying to go, but you are keeping us from going. All you have to do is let go," Dissonance pleaded.  
_

 _"Please don't do this."_

 _"Please, I'm begging you."_

I feel myself crying and for just a moment I am back in that damned hospital looking at my mother. I sit silently. I've been doing a lot of that tonight. I can picture them in my head waiting patiently for me to open up my mind.

* * *

 _"Thank You. Give Them Hell," Forearmed smiled._

 _"Beware of Coil. Never Give Up, " Dissonance added._

 _"Goodbye, Hero."_

* * *

I did not know them long, but I grieved for my heroes regardless.

* * *

x

x

x

x

x

Authors Note: Sorry that took so long. I rewrote this chapter a few times. Dissonance and Forearmed were never going to stick around long. The other place they could have left was during a certain arc down the line, but I felt it would be better here.

Grue will be explained in a future Epoch interlude. Almost put it happening right next to Taylor before remembering the Butcher would never go near her under any circumstance after last chapter.

In brighter news, Taylor got 2 more minions. Just two more to go, though one won't be seen for a while. Next chapter is Coil Interlude and then she becomes a Warlord in the next arc. Needless to say, there are going to be a few reactions among the city to what happened. Also added a bit to the Seed Lore page.


	18. 3-7

3.7

Coil had always had trouble sleeping. When he was younger his brain was far too active to ever sleep. He would lie still in his bed for hours, just thinking about everything and nothing. After Nilbog and Adams, New York, sleeping had become a thing to dread. Before he received his power, he had barely been able to function at all.

He had been forever anxious and restless, with his eyes constantly scanning for threats. He stayed indoors, stockpiled food and supplies, and had a gun on hand wherever he went. There was no such thing as being too paranoid in Coil's opinion. It was a mad, and dangerous world he lived in. While the nightmares were terrible, he had truly hated sleeping because of how vulnerable it made him.

But all that had changed thanks to his deal with Cauldron. With the security his power had brought him, he had adapted and persevered. He would sleep the bare minimum of REM sleep needed for his body and learned to meditate to help deal with his memories. As Coil he had the confidence and security needed to bring order to the city. Things had greatly improved after his debt to Cauldron was finally paid off, Accord's weaknesses had been tested to the point he was confident he could deal with him if needed, and he was finally starting to make preparations to enact his final plan. Everything was starting to come together.

Then SHE had shown up. Faust, who people were calling the next Nilbog. The moment her true abilities had became known; the nightmares had started up again. While his power made sleeping less dangerous, it also made it impossible to not remember his dreams.

No matter how much he wanted to forget them.

Now, no matter what he dreamed of, she was always there. A crow observing him from a telephone wire, a strange tree that followed him and moved whenever no one was looking, men and woman with the same dead looks in their eyes, she was always there in some form. When the reports of people being abducted in the docks started to spread, she appeared in his dreams in a costume exactly like his, but with the colors reversed showing a black snake on a white background. The day she started to openly attack the ABB, she appeared wearing Nilbog's costume and crown, seated on a living throne shaped to look like a tree. The day she vivisected the Teeth, she appeared wearing his face. It had been covered with green vines and thorns piercing his flesh and forcing his face into a bleeding smile.

He had spared no expense in finding out everything he could about her. Every Thinker for hire had been systematically contacted and paid in full whatever their price before erasing that reality and moving to another. Tattletale and Accord had studied her for weeks and Tattletale had stolen everything the PRT had on her. In several realities he had started randomly bombing and shooting people in the docks to draw out her Lusus for study.

What he had learned had been troubling. Faust was the worst sort of vigilante to deal with. Someone smart, ruthless, powerful, and hard to predict. The last time he had this much trouble dealing with a hero had been Dissonance during Bloody Tuesday. Despite their plan he had double-crossed them and he had barely survived Dissonance's attempts to murder him as the Seventeenth Butcher.

But at least Dissonance had a relatively easy power to deal with. Faust was infinitely more dangerous than Dissonance had ever been. She was not afraid to mutilate her enemies to get information, was both willing and able to escalate with an army, and her power was do damn difficult to defend against.

His new base's construction had been pushed back months to better install new defenses to help deal with her biological agents, all of his agents and mercenaries now quarantined themselves for two days if they entered the docks for any reason, and the latest biological and chemical suits were on backlog. Piggot had ordered anything and everything she could get her hands on for the PRT after Faust's attack on the Teeth.

He had run through several scenarios in the docks to learn as much as he could. She did not seem to care about attacks on the ABB, she only cared about the well being of normal people in the docks. The rumors that she had already infiltrated and taken over the ABB had been thankfully false. Imagining Lung under her control has been terrifying to think about.

Using several throw away realities to lure out her Lusus, he had tried to track them back to the source without much success. The few he had found seemed to have been hiding for days at least. On the occasions he had killed a large group of civilians, she had gone all out and he realized how many of her Lusus was still hidden. Every time he had tried it, more and more of her Lusus were showing up.

So he now knew she was slowly building up her forces, and based off where they had shown up, she was more than aware of where most of the ABB were in the docks. She was not building infiltrators but large creatures meant for fighting. The question was why she hadn't attacked yet? What was she waiting for?

Tattletale's guess had turned out to be right and that her ability to control the Lusus was greatly diminished outside of the docks. In the realities where he openly attacked civilians, the number of Lusus chasing his men had dropped off when they left the docks. He had run the same attacks and now knew her general range and numbers.

After weeks of study, he decided to take advantage of her new distraction with the Butcher to force a confrontation between her and the heroes. After planning and using the very few contacts he had in the Teeth not eaten alive by the Butcher, he had successfully manipulated events so Faust had run into the heroes. It gave him a chance to observe her real form. If the heroes won, Faust would have been forced under their restrictions, if she won he would be able to study her in action. But she had disabled them with pathetic ease using some type of virus emitted from her body.

He had closely reviewed and studied the video he had of her now that she had finally shown herself. Her estimated age was between late twenties and early thirties. Without her tail she was around 178cm tall and weighed at least 70kg. Her mask was an actual living entity that randomly grew and died to form patterns and seemed to produce oxygen according to Tattletale.

She moved and acted with supreme confidence and calm. When the heroes had shown up, she had shown little concern when talking to her subordinate and Phoenix. She had simply waited patiently for the heroes to go down the stairs, and used her Lusus to spring a trap.

Her gathering of allies was not too worrying at least. Phoenix was little more than a constant annoyance that was easily dealt with a gun. Codex's ability to cause permanent brain damage would take care of her if she proved hard to deal with. He was curious how much Faust knew about her considering her stated rule of never killing anyone. Phoenix had murdered at least three of the ABB in the past.

Epoch's ability was very powerful, but he was too full of himself and reckless to use it to it's full potential. Tattletale said he treated being a hero as little more than an exciting game. He only worked for himself, and he tended to rush into situations believing his power would let him deal with hit. He would be easy to trick into a trap if he became an issue.

Faust's new minion Lethe was a security concern. With her around, he could never be confidant Faust hadn't gotten to his soldiers and they just never remembered it. He had ordered all of his soldiers to bite their lip hard enough to bleed if Faust ever captured them. At least that way they would know if their memory had been erased.

He yawned in the reality where he was at his computer; researching everything he could about Faust and the Undersiders recent raid against the Teeth. Another large coffee and a shot of a powerful stimulant were helping to keep him awake. In his other reality he had finally managed to fall asleep in his bed, and for once wasn't dreaming of her again. He logged onto his computer to bring up the latest news.

► **World News: The Simurgh attacks two places for first time.**  
The Simurgh attacked Fortaleza, Brazil for exactly 22 minutes before retreating and attacking Chengdu, China before Scion drove her off. The Union refused all reinforcements from entering their territory, and a media blackout has prevented more information from spreading out of the region. State news….

► **America News: Dodge City, Kansas enters 2** **nd** **week of quarantine.**  
Officials have extended the quarantine of the city in response to the pathogen released by Bonesaw of the Slaughterhouse 9. How the pathogen was able to cause the residents of the town to attack each other is still not understood. Could this new type of attack be in response to Faust's recent actions…..

 **Brockton Bay News** : **Faust, Angel or Demon?**  
The controversial vigilante Faust's recent biological attack on the Teeth has split public sentiment down the middle with many either condemning or applauding her actions. The PRT's recent declarations of an arrest warrant being issued on her and villain status has only inflamed the passions of both her…

The public was still pointlessly arguing about Faust's actions. Despite her methods, she had been having a notable affect on crime in the city. The news had finally picked up on it and run a story on the decrease in crime on the docks. New Wave had neglected to provide comment on her actions.

Piggot had finally wised up and made public Faust's arrest warrant. The PRT had made its status clear that she was a villain for attacking heroes, and illegally using high-class biological weapons against suspects. He had a few spies in the PRT, two of which he was sure Piggot didn't know about, and they hadn't been able to pass on much yet. Cleanup at the pit fight was slow with the lack of availability of biological protection the PRT had ended up needing to handle the sheer number of patients and the scale of the cleanup.

Piggot in her usual bull headed way was not taking any chances which was slowing everything down. Every hero and officer was wearing full protection gear and checking for traps. Progress had finally picked up when Armsmaster had finished setting up his new Nano cloud unit that could clear the air around an area of all toxins, specified viruses, and microbes.

The PRT had made a small press conference early for once in response to the cell footage several of the Teeth had used. A few of the smarter Teeth unaffected by the virus had played dead to avoid Faust going near them. The footage had not been the greatest with the lack of light, and none of the Teeth were talking to the authorities or the news. The Seattle PRT had confirmed that they would be sending support soon to help stabilize Brockton.

The lack of concrete information has caused PHO to be flooded with unsubstantiated rumors about her attack. They were so numerous that it was difficult to judge or find real info. Everything from zombies, flesh eating bacteria, and even dead heroes coming back to life were being talked about. Tattletale and Grue had given their report, but they missed most of Faust's personal attack. His own efforts to find a better source of information had come up short.

He sighed, and sent a message to a trustworthy source of information. They charged an exorbitant amount of money for their info, but they were usually right. He almost never kept the reality where he talked to them anymore though. Aristotle had somehow figured out that he was using info he or she had without paying for it. In case Aristotle stopped responding to his requests, he now only used them on rare and important occasions. Despite how useful they were, he greatly disliked talking to Aristotle.

* * *

Aristotle: Well this is a surprise. I can't remember the last time you called for information you slimy, low-lying lizard piece of puke. What can I do for you shit stain?

Slough: I need all the information you have on Faust, a new parahuman in Brockton Bay, including any information on her recent attack on the Teeth.

Aristotle: Now why the hell would I do that for a hopeless, fucking, needle dick? You broke my rules, and undercut me. I don't know how, but I know you did it you fuck weasel.

Slough: I can sell you some information on Faust, and the PRT that no one else has. I'm sending you a taste of it now.

Aristotle: Fuck, fine. But it won't be cheap. Here is my price.

Slough: Just sent it to you.

Aristotle: Very well. Just sent you some of what I have. Faust is a powerful vigilante Wet Tinker, perhaps the wet Tinker, with a focus on Cloning and biological modifications. Considered by most to be the next potential Nilbog. But I have a feeling you know all that already.

Slough: Psychological Profile?

Aristotle: She, my gut says she actually is female, is very patient and clever. She spent weeks observing the docks and the 88 before making her move to attack. She predicted how the 88 would react and she planned accordingly. She has a very strict set of rules in place she follows with the biggest being no killing. She could have easily killed all of the 88 and most of the Teeth with a deadly pathogen, but she chose not to.

She does show some psychopathic tendencies based off of her first raid on the Teeth. Several witness statements by the Teeth she injured report mood swings. She stood by unaffected as the Teeth were mutilated in more ways than one, then shouted stop like a completely different person.

I don't think she really cares about criminal's lives in the strictest sense. She seems to be more worried about breaking her rules. She has a very low opinion of the PRT and authority. Considering how vicious she was with the Teeth, my guess is she is a past victim of a criminal that the authorities didn't stop.

Slough: Do you have any decent footage of her attack?

Aristotle: As a matter of fact I do, as well some new juicy info from a few of the Teeth. Normally they'd never give me anything considering what the Butcher does to people who spill the Teeth's secrets. But Faust hurt the Teeth in a way they have never been hurt before. I've got several Teeth selling all the info they have for some extra cash to get the hell out of dodge.

Slough: How did she hurt them?

Aristotle: I'm not a fucking charity snake. I'm sending you my asking price. Pay it or go fuck your whore of a mother.

Slough: There. I've even paid you double. Now what do you mean?

Aristotle: I just got confirmation. Faust is a Trump, and a very powerful one. She stole at least one past Butcher's power and used it against the Teeth. She also did something to the Butcher when they met face to face. I don't know exactly what she did, but the Butcher actually ran in fear from her. The Teeth reported the Butcher was not herself, themselves, whatever after Faust fought her. She was irritated, and stressed in a way that the Teeth had never seen before. She has already left Brockton Bay and is starting a new plan to deal with Faust.

Slough: There I've paid you the same amount I did before. What plan?

Aristotle: She/he/it/them is spending money like crazy to hire specific parahuman hit men and gathering specific Teeth to come to Brockton to deal with Faust. Nothing definite on whom she is trying to hire, but some of the names I'm hearing whispered aren't cheap. I have never heard of the Butcher doing anything like this before. Whatever Faust did, she scared her enough to send the Butcher running.

Slough: Now the footage.

Aristotle: What footage?

Slough: The footage of the attack that you have that the PRT doesn't have. Enough with the damn games.

Aristotle: Don't worry your pretty little head. I'm sending it right now free of charge. I just wanted to fuck with you a bit. I have a strong suspicion of who you are now, and I want you know all about Faust is going to do to you once she gets around to you. Here you go, it's a video compiled from several Teeth that had the good sense to play dead and managed to get away before the Heroes showed up. Never call me again.

* * *

Coil was irritated as he downloaded the video file and watched it. The video cut between different viewpoints from cell phone footage of various Teeth as Faust's attack happened. He saw and heard it all and he slowly felt a growing pressure in his chest as the video went on.

The ground was littered with screaming and moaning forms, Reaver crushed and broken with a spider attached to his spine unable to move or call for help, and Skinslip was little more than a pulsating and weeping pile of ooze on the ground with most of his skin eaten away. The people in the recording gave him a wide birth, but he could be heard pleading and begging for help. Throughout the attack, Faust was laughing a booming, hysterical, strangely echoing, laugh that she did not even seem to be aware of.

As he watched her tear through the Teeth with shocking speed, he was aware of his other reality where, he was dreaming, began to change. In his dream, he was suddenly back in Adams, New York as it slowly died. He relived the fear and panic at the dead stacked like wood, the captain being ripped apart, the desperation as he shot the person in front of him for being too slow to go up the ladder.

He remembered it all so vividly. He remembered climbing the ladder where he found Piggot trying to save one of the civilian survivors they had managed to pick up. She had tied a cloth over her empty eye as a makeshift eye patch, as she desperately tried to keep the sniveling child from bleeding out. He remembered the blank and dead look in the other few survivors eyes, as they looked out at the city burning. The smoke and red glow had conjured up an image of hell from the spreading fires. They had barely managed to escape before the army started firebombing the city, not yet aware of how useless it was.

He had seen the same scenes over and over for years. But this time there was something new.

A woman's hysterical laughter was spreading out from the fires. In the reality where he was back at his base, Coil felt wave after wave of cold fear begin roll over him. He could hear his heart beat so loudly, he thought it would come out of his chest as an image of Faust appeared out of the smoke looking over him in his dream. His fear became so intense he began to hyperventilate and for a brief moment he thought he was having a heart attack.

The figure of smoke and fire put her face right up to the helicopter and her mask formed into a single burning eye that seemed to stare into his soul.

With a start Coil's other reality collapsed. He awoke in his bed covered in a cold sweat having grabbed his hidden gun. He swung it back and forth across the room as he clutched his hand over his chest to try and stop the chest pains. For a few agonizing seconds, Coil truly feared he was going insane before he managed to calm down.

He placed his gun on the side of the bed and vomited into a nearby trashcan. He ran to his bathroom and took two of his pills. The old feelings of depression and helplessness would not go away. He divided realities and in one of them just started to scream and shoot indiscriminately at a wall before collapsing it.

He sat down with his hands on his knees, and took deep breaths. He hated these moments of vulnerability, with the realities so close together. If someone were to attack him now, he could be killed permanently. A burning rage filled his mind as he thought of Faust. He took two more of his pills and took a long hot shower before he managed to calm down.

When he was confident his voice betrayed no inkling of weakness, he decided to call Tattletale to check up on Grue's status. The phone rang several times before she finally picked up.

"Sorry," she said. "I was taking a nap and enjoying the lack of headaches. What can I do for you boss?" Coil just managed to keep from saying something. Tattletale seemed pathologically incapable of not making every word she spoke to him sound sarcastic and insulting.

"Tattletale," he said before realizing his mistake. He collapsed the reality, and created a new one. He still called her Tattletale in his head, but she hated that name and the past it represented. While it bothered him having to change himself to work with her, he didn't want to push it. Several experimental timelines had shown that she would leave if he tried to exert too much control. Trying to forcibly stop or capture her simply caused her to kill herself by detonating the explosive in her earing. Despite her occasional attempts to push his buttons, she was too valuable to risk offending, and she knew it too. He couldn't deal with her yet, not until the city was his.

This time he remembered to call her by her alias. "Pyrotechnical."

"Sorry," she said. "I was taking a nap and enjoying the lack of headaches. What can I do for you boss?"

"How is Grue doing?"

"He's a bit better now, but he has always been the kind of person to close himself off and not show weakness to others. He is doing as well as can be considered for a 2nd trigger event. Though he doesn't think it was a normal one based off of the Butcher's behavior, and he seems remarkably okay mentally speaking."

"What do you mean?"

"According to Grue, it seemed liked the Butcher was trying to get him to kill her. The Butcher was noticeably weaker and less confident than normal, but she should have been able to easily escape or deal with Grue if she wanted to. Epoch can't freeze what he can't see and Grue's darkness was everywhere. The Butcher can see in the dark using the 2nd's power to see blood vessels. Grue survived the last time they fought by pretending to be a normal member of the Teeth and hiding in the crowd. She wasn't expecting him to have a 2nd trigger, and it wasn't normal."

"How so?"

"He truly doesn't remember anything about it. Faust mentioned the Butcher could see memories, so it is possible his power did something to her in response and that is why he doesn't remember much of what happened."

"Do you have a theory?"

"Grue and I think the Butcher wanted to die and use his power against Faust. Grue was fairly certain that the Butcher was somehow afraid of Faust. The plan was either she died and Grue became the new Butcher or Grue would deal with her if she couldn't."

"Are you saying she intentionally caused him to have a 2nd trigger event?"

"It's just a theory Grue has. There is no evidence of it and he wasn't exactly in the right state of mind at the time."

"Do you know what Grue's new power is yet?"

"Heh, we do indeed. We've been practicing with it, and he is the reason I don't have a headache right now. He can temporarily steal powers."

Coil took a moment to process that information. "Truly?"

"Yeah, He can slowly steal a single power of a parahuman in his darkness. He can only have one power at a time though. We experimented with it a bit by having him steal our powers. We've been trading my power back and forth to get out of the Thinker headaches."

"That power gives you quite a few possibilities."

"It does indeed. The main downside is that the power he steals has a sort of fuel. The more he uses it, the faster it drains. Though he can just keep draining it from the same person if they get in his darkness. For it to be really useful we need a power that can give us permanent upgrades."

"I take it you have a few ideas?"

"Our top pick right now is Victor from the 88. We capture him and Grue can use his power to steal all the knowledge from his head."

"Good idea."

"Even better is that if we do it right we can blame Faust for it and keep Grue's power a secret. Imp can knock out Victor, Grue absorbs his power and then all his skills, and then we remove a limb. There are rumors of Faust being a trump of some kind. Considering her past actions, its easy to think she would do something like that to Victor."

"Anyone else?"

"We thought about Tinkers, but I know from experience how their tech requires too much upkeep to really be useful. I can barely keep up on my stuff. There are better possibilities among the hero's ranks. Chevalier would be useful but it takes a long time before he can make something truly game changing. Golem raised the possibility of taking Crawler's power to upgrade Grue, though he obviously doesn't want to look like he does and it would be almost impossible to kidnap one of the heavy hitters of the STARS assault teams."

"Our best bet would be Panacea. Her power could give us permanent body upgrades, and we can use Bonesaw's work on Regent to give us ideas. We have the advantage in that nobody knows about what Grue can do making us the least likely suspects. Of course, kidnapping and draining heroes is going to put us at the top of Faust's and the other hero's shit list once they find out. Though Grue is still pissed enough about Faust poaching Bitch that I think he was tempted."

"Do you think she will keep her promise for sharing territory?"

"Grue and I think she will keep it for now. She seems like the type to follow a code of ethics including keeping her promises. But she will look for an excuse to deal with us eventually. But she is in for surprise since Grue can counter her. The darkness can stop her Lusus and he can absorb Golem's power to deal with whatever she sends in. No matter what she sends in it has to be independent with strong programming to prevent it from killing anyone. She won't use biological weapons in a public place. I think we can hold it from her in a direct fight, but she'll get sneaky if a direct attack doesn't work."

"What are your thoughts on her future actions?"

"Grue and I have talked about it, and we both figure Faust is not going to just try and take the docks alone. Everyone and their mother knows Faust is going to make a push to oust the ABB soon. But she has already made enemies of the Empire and the Teeth. She will probably try take a bit more outside of the docks so it is easier to defend from the inevitable counterattack and to help her push into other gang's territory. She'll probably focus on the Empire or the Teeth next."

"You think she will ignore Accord?"

"For now she can. Accord probably pisses her off in his own way, but he isn't bad as the Teeth or the Empire for the people in the city. You work with Accord and know what he is like. Faust probably thinks she can make a deal with Accord to keep the peace on their borders until the Teeth and Empire are dealt with. Do you want us to claim territory on his border?"

"Where do you want to claim territory?"

"Grue hates to admit it, but sharing a border between the Empire and Faust is probably the best in his opinion. Kaiser isn't an idiot, and having a buffer state between his territory and Faust is a good idea. Especially once word gets around that Grue's darkness is a good counter to her Lusus. Our reputation is going to go through the roof after people find that out and what we did to the Teeth. He'll let us be as long as we don't make too much trouble for him. Once Faust is dealt with, he will figure he can focus on us. He has been too quiet lately. He is probably doing the same thing you and Accord are doing, waiting until Lung and Faust fight before making a push."

"I agree with your choices. Claim territory near the docks in such a way that it can partially block a path to my own territory."

"Will do. What do you want us to do about Rachel? She just took what little she had a the Loft and we are almost moved out in case she tells Faust where we are."

"Do nothing, she made her choice and her power is nothing special. She was more trouble than she was worth. Let Faust have her. I will look into finding a better replacement for her on the team. Was there anything else?"

"Yes, I hacked and downloaded the reports on the Endbringer attacks from the PRT that Accord want for you on your computer."

"Anything surprising?"

"The Simurgh attacked two targets for the first time. She attacked Fortaleza, Brazil and then Chengdu, China. No clue on her targets yet and China hasn't put up any walls for some reason. Quite a few people got out before they could put a cordon up and there are reports of intense fighting between the Yàngbǎn within the city. You can tell Accord none of the heroes from Brockton heard her song for that long. China did not permit any heroes from other countries into their borders. The Simurgh did pass the medical area where a few Brockton Bay parahumans who had not passed their psych profile were staying when she left Brazil though."

"Who exactly and for how long?"

"Panacea and Flashbang both heard her song for around 90 seconds. Not long enough to do much. Flashbang has clinical depression, so New Wave checked him into a psychological hospital to remain under observation just in case."

"Very well, your payment has been transferred as well as bonus for dealing with Faust and the Butcher. I am very pleased with your performance. Was there anything else?"

"Nothing for now."

"Keep up the good work." Coil hung up and moved into his restroom. He took two more of his pills to be on the safe side and got dressed. He took his time making breakfast while he thought about Grue's new power.

Grue was his favorite type of employee, useful, desperate for something only he could provide, and competent. He had proved his loyalty by not accepting Faust's deal, and his power opened up a few interesting possibilities that required some experimentation using throw away realities.

After eating, he walked to the van that had come to pick him up. Luis, though he was better known by his nickname of Creep, was similar to Grue. His particular peccadillo made normal employment impossible, and none of his captains would accept him in their squad. His loyalty was easily bought by providing him what he required, and he remained the only being who knew his real identity.

Accord had given him three low level vials in gratitude for his help combating the Chain Gang. Accord despite his brilliance, was an amateur in espionage. His Ambassadors were chosen for other qualities and he had an especially difficult time dealing with the Chain Gang when he first arrived to the city.

It was not well known, but the Chain Man had not actually led the Chain Gang. He was just a powerful figurehead for the real leaders. Their real leaders were a group of human masters who had infiltrated the gangs and other groups all over the city. But they bit off more than they could chew when they tried to deal with Lung.

He had given Luis one of the vials, and had been very pleased with his new power. His power could show him the quickest path to obtaining a stated goal. It was limited in that it can only be used a few times a day before giving him severe migraines. His own power let him get around that limitation but he still had to deal with the other drawback of his power. It only showed one solution, and did not show the fallback of the stated path.

Accord had asked him to help put pressure on the governor to keep the bill stripping union rights from passing. It would have led to riots and made managing the city harder. When he asked Creep how to best stop the bill from passing, he stated to go through the governor's son. He had done it and the bill had not passed, but unfortunately it had led to complications with Piggot becoming more aware of his activities. Several of his spies had been found out and she was actively looking for security leaks now.

As the van drove off he saw several birds on a wire, and he felt a slight tremor despite himself. He forced those thoughts from his mind as he put on his second skin. As the mask went over his face, his doubts and anxiety fell away as he became Coil. One way or another he would deal with Faust.

When he was finished getting dressed he split realities and began to ask his driver questions. His voice was the same dull, and emotionless tone it always was. His emotions had been muted since his took his formula as a useful side effect.

"What is the best way to enact my final plan?" Coil asked.

"Use Golem's knowledge to oust identities of the Empire, stop Faust from interfering, and eliminate Accord before after weakening him."

" _The same as before_ ," Coil thought. He destroyed the reality and made a new one.

"Would killing Faust stop her from interfering with my plan?"

"I don't know. "

"Let me rephrase, what is the best way to kill Faust?"

"Have the Butcher kill her."

"What is the best way of stopping Faust?"

"Destroy her lab."

"What is the best way to find her lab?"

"Use Accord's help to pinpoint it's location while launching periodic waves on the docks after she takes it over."

Coil asked a few more questions but nothing too useful was revealed. He took a deep breath and meditated to calm himself down as they traveled downtown to his headquarters hidden in an office building with the inside designed by Accord.

The van pulled into the parking garage next to his building all the way down to a hidden basement. He got out of the side and entered the hidden door that led to his private elevator. His decoy was already active on the computer in the center of the building, while he took his place in the actual base in a sub-basement.

While he wanted a more secure base against biological agents, his current one was decent compared to the last one that had been destroyed by Dissonance. The entire building was his and actually did perform real work under as a computer data company. The only difference was the building was built like a fortress, and all of the employees were well paid, in armor, and very well armed.

He greeted his captains and ordered them to stand on alert in case Accord tried something while he spoke to him. He never had, but he it was better to be safe than sorry. He approached his computer, started it up, and split realities. Accord was very punctual when he agreed to a time to meet.

In the past they had met in person, then by a personal letters, but it quickly became evident that was just easier and more convenient to communicate by computer. Meeting in person could cause him to do or say something he could take offense at, and Accord could not focus well if something was distracting him. It didn't matter how small or mundane, any imperfection grated him, which was a big weakness that he had exploited in the past.

Their alliance had proven very useful in the past. Together they had weathered several Butchers, the Chain Gang, the Marquis rampage, and not only survived but thrived. Accord's ability made him smarter the more complex a problem was. It also made him great at designing complex plans, and structures. His current base had been designed by Accord, and met all of his meticulous standards.

But for all his brilliance, he was very stupid in other ways. Beyond being easily distracted by small and mundane imperfections, he was very much a person of routine. He hated changes in his schedule and did not react well to sudden unplanned attacks. Forcing a chaotic brawl with new capes had been used for years by the Butcher to throw him off balance.

He had finally taken his suggestions and started using body doubles after the Chain Gang had tried to assassinate him, but it was easy to figure out who the real one was through trial and error. He routinely paid Circus to break into his bedroom in other realities, and slowly but surely figured out his schedules and trap locations. If necessary he was confident he could kill him and recruit most of his ambassadors.

Accord knew of and could plan for people's emotions or viewpoints, but he just didn't care about them. If a person went to see him and didn't meet his views or standards, he tried to kill them. That made him fairly isolated and easy to place a spy to place into his ranks. Of course he was not foolish enough to think Accord did not have a plan for him and was not aware that he had a plan to deal with him.

He had told Accord his power was to make very good simulations on how people would talk and act. So Accord had to realize he had run the numbers on how a fight would go and plan accordingly. Then again he might not. Tattletale believed he genuinely considered him a friend and greatly valued their alliance. She believed he had become more aware of his lack of relationships after he heard the Simurgh sing when she attacked Boston. Coil had to admit that he would be a little depressed when the time came to finally dispose of him. His current score was 3 successful assassinations of Accord out of 12 attempts in other realities. But with Tattletale helps, he was confident that he would be much more successful.

At the exact time he said would, a video chat popped up and Accord himself appeared as he always did. He continued to dress like a Fortune 500 CEO, in a expensive white suit that had been meticulously cleaned. His hair was oiled and neatly parted, with his black-gloved hands flat on his desk. He had started to wear them after Dissonance had successfully torn off one of his hands and it had taken one of his ambassadors a week to make him a new one. His ornate mask with curling, overlapping bands of dark metal trimmed with silver into a thin smile just like the mask he had made for Grue during his brief time working for him.

Accord nodded his head at the camera. "Coil, a pleasure as always."

Coil nodded his head despite the fact that all Accord could see was a still image. "Accord. I apologize but I wish to add something unscheduled to our meeting agenda that I think you will appreciate. Does this interfere with your schedule?"

"No need to apologize, my schedule has a built in time in case our meeting needs to be stretched. What did you have in mind?"

Coil sent the data packets from Tattletale to Accord. "One of my new employees has managed to hack and procure a comprehensive analysis the PRT has done on anyone and everyone they know of who has heard the Simurgh's song and an estimated time of exposure."

For just a moment Accord's mask shifted in a small way over his mouth and eyes. To most it would have meant nothing, but Coil had worked with him long enough to tell he was reliving the fear of the Simurgh's attack on Boston. He hadn't heard her song long, but it still terrified him on a level that Coil was all too familiar with.

After the attack, he had dedicated himself to trying to figure out her plan and minimize her actions. He originally came to Brockton because of Dragon and Armsmaster's work trying to predict the Endbringer's attacks. His help had greatly improved their ability to predict Leviathan and Behemoth. He also took pains to remove certain individuals he thought had been selected by the Simurgh for her plan that the heroes had missed.

"Thank you. This will greatly help my plans. There is no need to postpone our meeting. I will carefully analyze this data on my own time."

"You're welcome. How has rebuilding your forces come along?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I have four more candidates ready to go to replace my recent losses to the Butcher. As per our agreement, I will share everything I have on them once they drink their formulas."

"Yes, as per our agreement, I am sending you the dossier on the Undersiders."

Accord's mask raised a band over his eye indicating curiosity. "So you formed another group of villains similar to Circus's new group? I am surprised you are going to all this trouble considering how long the last such group lasted."

"Such groups have their uses, and the Undersiders are not like Circus's troupe or similar past attempts. They are much more useful, and powerful. Would you prefer me to go over them as you read along?"

"That will be sufficient. Lets start with their Leader, who I am very familiar with. Grue, whose real name is Brian Laborn. I liked Grue, and his abilities were up to my standards. It's a pity he decided to interfere and save Phoenix."

"Grue has a soft spot for people stuck on their own and he likes having heroes owe him favors. Might I ask why you decided to deal with Phoenix using Codex's power? In my experience disabling heroes does tend to make things less organized in the long run."

"Phoenix was causing too much chaos in my territory and did not ask for permission to hunt a pimp. Unlike her, he paid me a portion of his proceeds, and kept certain activities outside my territory. Nor did she agree to meet with me to discuss grievances. Hmmm…Grue killed his father on Bloody Tuesday but this didn't cause him to trigger?"

"No, his father was always a cold man who did show him much love. It obviously affected him, but he did not feel much when he did it. He regretted it only because he was forced to live with his mother, a known drug addict and Teeth associate."

Accords mask changed to show disgust at the mention of their mutual enemy. "Whatever Grue's faults he was exemplary when he attacked the Teeth. When exactly did he trigger?"

"He triggered protecting his sister from a group of Teeth who tried to assault her and he killed two of them. He also severely beat his mother for putting his sister in danger and was arrested for the act. A local gang made his bail as an offer for him to work with them after being impressed with his fighting ability. He briefly went to work with them before stealing from them as Grue and skipping town."

"I was unaware he was active for so long. Why did not I hear of him?"

"He was not active in Brockton. I'm not sure how much you are aware of what he can do, but Grue has the ability to generate clouds of darkness that erase all light, mute and distort sounds, and confuse the sense of touch. It also interferes with microwaves, radio frequencies, radiation, electrical fields, and Breaker powers. He acted as a professional thief that moved around and took steps to stay under the radar. He would scope out a place, use his darkness to suppress the alarms, empty it of valuables, then left before the darkness disappeared. He never stayed in one place for very long, and he was fairly successful."

"Why did he come back to Brockton?"

"He kept in touch with his sister, and told her about his power in case she triggered. She informed him that she did in fact trigger and he came back home after she ran away from her mother to find him. He sought power and money to try and gain custody of his sister. I made him an offer of help in return for his services and he accepted it. He planted some drugs in his mother's apartment, crippled his mother's boyfriend, and used my help to gain custody of his sister."

"Are the rumors of his power true?"

"Yes, his darkness can block Faust's control of her Lusus. While she is working on Lusus to deal with him, she is limited in that anything she makes would have to be independent of her control and safe around civilians."

"His power will be very useful for their deal with her to control territory in the docks. Have you decided where to place their territory?"

"I have decided for them to share a border with the Empire. Considering Faust's past activities against Kaiser, he would appreciate having a buffer state between them. It also has the added bonus of making it more difficult for him to enforce his holdings downtown. I do not particularly care about Territory, but it keeps my mercenaries sharp dealing with them. Who would you like me to go over next?"

"Perhaps this employee that managed to crack the PRT codes? That is quite an accomplishment. Even I have not managed it."

Coil chuckled. "You sell yourself short, but she is very good at what she does. The one who did that is Pyrotechnical, whose real name Sara Livsey. Though she currently lives under the alias Lisa Wilborn.

Accord's mask showed real surprise at that. "Sara Livsey. The Sara Livsey? Tattletale?"

Coil felt himself smile. "Yes, the one and only."

"I know what she did to the Elite, but I've always been curious why she gave up so much power and influence."

"Sara Livsey's father was a wealthy man who bought a cauldron formula for more influence. Rather than risk the side effects, he gave it to his son who triggered with a useful power that made him a successful rogue and he worked for his father. The Elite were impressed with his abilities and forcibly recruited her brother. He did something to displease them, and they killed him while making it look like a suicide."

"I'm sure Tattletale didn't appreciate that."

"She did not find out until much later, but yes she didn't. After Sara triggered, her father essentially sold her to the Elite. You can guess how the rest of the story goes. She climbed to the top of the Elite's leadership and became her now infamous self. But just when the Elite seemed poised to climb to never before seen seats of power, she betrayed them. She spilled all their secrets, numerous banks account, safe houses, weaknesses, and more to all of their enemies before disappearing."

"The Elite lost an enormous amount of power and influence that they are only just starting to claw back," Accord replied. "They have been extremely defensive of their remaining holdings. That is why they fought so hard to push the Butcher out of St. Louis and pushed her to Brockton early. Tattletale is almost worth as much as Jack Slash is if she can be taken alive."

"Yes, despite all she did to them, they very much want her back. She made a deal with the real Pyrotechnical after saving her life from the Jamestowner so she could take her identity and tech to hide. I made her a deal to help hide her, and to use my resources to help get revenge on three people she still wants to kill. She already burned her parent's house down with them still in it. She will be a great resource when we finally expand into territory held by the Elite."

"Be careful that she doesn't try the same thing with you."

"I have taken precautions, and she knows that I will not betray her as long as she keeps to our agreement. She is worried about several Elite that have the ability to track, find, and catch her. My power greatly helps to predict and protect her from them. Who would you like to go over with next?"

"How about Regent? I'm surprised you managed to employ one of Heartbreakers surviving brood considering how closely watched they are in the PRT's foster home due to Heartbreaker's recent death."

"Believe it or not Heartbreaker actually died over a year ago. He failed his test and Jack killed him for it. Bonesaw barely brought him back after Regent or Hijack as he was then known, passed his test and joined to protect what was left of his siblings."

"He was a member of the 9?" Accord asked. Coil was impressed that he had managed to hide his shock. "Do you find it wise to have a former member of the 9 working for you?"

"He was a forced member, and did not like what he was forced to do. Most of the work blamed on Heartbreaker was actually his doing using his real power. Tattletale believes that he will be loyal to the group if we take certain steps and precautions."

"Well I trust your judgment, but he has quite a dangerous power that you will have to be careful of. How did he finally escape after a almost a year of working with Jack?"

"During our mutual friends Dissonance's attack on the 9 when he was briefly the Butcher. He escaped after Dissonance murdered Shatterbird and distracted Jack."

Accord made a sign of disgust. "Dissonance was never our friend. If that zealot had not betrayed us, the Butcher would have been finished for good. The Butcher now knows of Codex and is more careful when they attack my territory." He took a few moments to keep reading. "Imp? I don't have any reports on her."

"Brian's sister and a powerful stranger. Triggered when her mother's boyfriend attacked her and she ran away from home to try and find her Brother. Not too much to report. She can be a little sadistic, and likes to "play" with her mother's boyfriend. Grue forced her to stop; as he was worried he would commit suicide. She remains the only Undersider who has never murdered anyone and Grue wishes for that to never change."

"Very well, then how about the new one, Golem."

"Golem's real name is Theo Anders, and he has the ability to embed his limbs into a surface in order to create a larger version some distance away from a similar surface. The effect works more slowly the larger he works. He is the son of the CEO of Medhall, who is a high-ranking member in the Empire, and their primary bank roller. He also killed a parent during Bloody Tuesday, but unlike Grue he triggered from killing his mother in self-defense. He was full of guilt and horror at what he had done. He hid his power and became the dutiful son in shame."

"What happened that caused him to walk away?"

"His father started to introduce him into the aspects of the Empire that are hard to pretty up. He saw a woman and her child being assaulted and had a flashback to his trigger. He killed all of their attackers, and left after leaving his Father a letter saying he was never coming home. Grue recruited him while he was sleeping in a park. He has given me a wealth of intelligence on the Empire's activities, and though he doesn't know too many real identities, his work will help narrow them down."

"Quite a colorful group you have gathered. But I can't argue their effectiveness considering their recent success against the Teeth with Faust. What happened to Kamaitachi and Bitch? Did they not work for you?"

"Kamaitachi has agreed to join Circus's troupe. Grue and Tattletale both refused to work with him. Faust…managed to convince Bitch to work with her," Coil said in slightly gritted Teeth. She is what I wanted to discuss. I feel we should move up our timetable to deal with her before our plan for the Butcher."

"I thought we agreed that we should wait until Faust did more damage to the Teeth, but her recent activities does show the merit of attacking her first. A wet Tinker can be bothersome. But despite her recklessness she is a hero, and letting her weaken the Empire and the Teeth first seems more prudent. We have the element of surprise and we are growing closer to discovering the location of her Lab. Once it is destroyed, she will be set back weeks or even months. May I ask why you changed your mind?"

"The PRT's data on the Simurgh has me worried. How do we not know Faust was not created from your missing vials?"

Accord for the first time gave a look of genuine shock and furrowed his brain in concentration while Coil kept talking. "It fits the long term plans the Simurgh likes. One of your prospective employees fails your test, and then goes into Boston to retrieve a few vials you lost during her attack. He tries to sell them to you, you sensibly try to kill him in case the Simurgh sang to came in contact with him, but he escaped and the vials went missing. Her name means she made a deal with the devil and Cauldron could fit if she read the contents of that case. Please, tell me I'm wrong."

"It is not impossible," Accord admitted with a look of worry on his mask. "A few cloning powers were created in the past using one of those missing vials, but Cauldron never dreamed of someone like Faust could be created."

"How big of a coincidence is it that you lose your vials, and the next potential Nilbog shows up six months later? We have to deal with her now, before she has time to build up and destroy this city. Considering her actions, I find it a strong possibility that she could snap."

Accord was silent as he mulled his thoughts. "I agree. Very well, I will need to draw up a new plan. Has Kamaitachi heard anything useful on Lung? It would be better to keep to the original plan and let Faust waste her strength on the ABB."

"I agree that the best time to attack her is while we have the element of surprise and after she takes the docks. She will be more vulnerable while she thinks herself successful. Kamaitachi has determined that Lung's recent push for buying more heavy firepower is a ruse to keep Faust occupied and distracted. His true plan is buying enough time for Bakuda to build a special bomb that will destroy every plant in the blast radius. I am not certain how much plant is in her Lusus, but Tattletale thinks it would damage Faust either way."

Accord shook his head and frowned. "I dislike mass death and Bakuda's past suggests her bomb will be more than capable of it. Her bomb would be too wasteful and throw things into chaos. Perhaps a message to Faust is in order to see how she reacts? If she is expecting a possible alliance, she will not see our attack coming."

"Excellent idea. But I think we should keep as much of the element of surprise as possible. Have one of the ABB pass the message to Faust on PHO. That way it is less traceable to us."

"You have given me much to think about. I will have a new plan for you to simulate within 48 hours. Was there anything else?"

"No, I will get started as soon as I receive your plan. Do not worry old friend. When we are done, the world will be more in order."

"Well said," Accord said as he switched off the transmission.

Coil split realities once more, with one trying to take a nap to help him recharge, and the other preparing his captains for a push against the Empire to see how organized and prepared they currently were.

Remembering his dream, he clutched his chest in both realities. What really bothered him about Faust wasn't the memories of fear it brought up, or even the disturbing imagery that followed in her wake.

It was the fact that no matter what form she took in his dreams, she was always laughing.

* * *

x

x

x

x

Sorry it was so late. I can only write on the weekends and I was distracted by Halloween and Fallout. Decided to add a PHO chapter before the next arc, which is much harder than I anticipated. Wanted to show the reactions of various characters to Taylor and her recent actions. There will be another one that describes what living in the docks under her is like in the future.


	19. 3-8

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 **Topic: Phoenix the Immortal Hero  
In: Boards ► Places ► America ► Brockton Bay Discussion (Public Board)**

 **CapeGeek** [Moderator](Original Poster) (Veteran Member)

Posted on October 9, 2010

Decided to clear up the main board by making a new one to discuss the newest independent hero in Brockton. What we know:

High-level breaker that can't die. Every time she dies, her body disappears and she shows up a few days later good as new. She is also a suspected low level brute by reports of throwing guys across a room one handed.

 **(Showing page 12 of 12)**

► **Ekul**

Replied on October 10, 2010:

Don't know too much about her besides the obvious that she can't die. Its made her pretty popular since she is the only one I know of who can get away with messing with Lung. I've been a fan since that picture of her bitch slapping Lung started going around. He has this look that just screams "Did that just happen?" He still killed her but she showed up two days later to mock him and apparently hit him with a piss balloon. Anyone know where she is active?

► **AverageAlexandros**

Replied on October 10, 2010:

She debuted in the north end a few months ago, so I'm assuming there. Several reports have her with vastly different faces, hair colors, and body shapes so no one is sure what she looks like. My guess is she gets a new body every time she dies.

► **XxCowboy of the VoidxX**

Replied on October 10, 2010:

I'm fairly sure she can just stretch and change her body. That picture you mentioned shows one arm being longer than the other. So she can just mold herself into new shapes and maybe faces. But I really don't think she is that great. It's easy for her to be flippant or brave when you don't have worry about the consequences. I'd like to see her try it when she does have to worry about not coming back. Not to mention she isn't that good at being a hero. She has operated in the docks for months, and has nothing to show for it. At least Epoch is forcing dealers to move.

► **Lolitup** (Cape Wife)

Replied on October 10, 2010:

Who's Epoch?

► **TheTruePhil**

Replied on October 10, 2010:

The other independent hero in the city. Besides New Wave. No one is sure how it works but he is a time traveler of some sort. He doesn't show up well on video so there isn't much info.

► **ACME**

Replied on October 10, 2010:

Cowboy of the Void

Don't be a hater man. At least she's trying to help the docks. There are so many dealers here the cops don't even bother trying to stop them unless they guarantee a big bust that looks good. The ABB got more to fear from the Teeth than the PRT.

 **►P-bird**

Replied on October 10, 2010:

Epoch is just a glory hound. Phoenix keeps going out every week. Epoch seems to only go out when he feels like it and patrols in different places so he never makes much of dent in a single area. He'll force a dealer to move than they come back when he gets bored. He also has a really stupid costume. Or so I hear.

► **XxCowboy of the VoidxX**

Replied on October 10, 2010:

At least he has a costume. Phoenix supposedly wears random hobo wear.

► **P-bird**

Replied on October 10, 2010:

It's called a disguise. You gain a lot more information and catch more criminals if you don't wear a flashy costume and tell everyone you're a hero.

► **TheGnat**

Replied on October 10, 2010:

Getting back on topic. Do you think she feels pain? Being immortal is pretty cool but the actual dying part must suck. I agree in that I respect Phoenix for trying to help the city. Not enough heroes here, though the PRT is finally reinforcing Brockton. We haven't had any new heroes since Adamant. I wonder if the PRT has made her an offer.

► **Queue (Verified Cape)**

Replied on October 10, 2010:

I have it from a good source, the heroes have approached her, but she won't talk to them. She just jams a knife in her heart and disappears in a bright light. She is wanted for questioning and has used excessive force in taking down several suspects.

► **P-bird**

Replied on October 10, 2010:

Excessive force? What exactly does that mean?

► **PowerchairJouster** (Veteran Member)

Replied on October 10, 2010:

Basically it means the use of aggressive capability above expectation. From what I hear, Phoenix likes to use knives. She hasn't killed anyone but she is fond of stabbing or slashing people.

► **TRJ**

Replied on October 10, 2011:

It's the same thing that happened to Shadow Stalker. She started using real arrows on criminals and was forced to join the wards or go to juvie since she was a minor. Phoenix would probably get the same deal because she hasn't killed anybody, and there are police reports that show she calls ambulances.

► **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:**

Replied on October 10, 2010:

She can also get away with it because again, she doesn't have to face any consequences since she can't die. Shadow Stalker started using real ammo and pissed off Grue, and she was lucky he never kills anybody. If it had been another villain she might not be here. Phoenix can do whatever she wants and never has to worry about pissing off dangerous people.

► **Chrome**

Replied on October 10, 2010:

I can concur on that. I've seen the ABB organize a mob to hunt her down and kill her repeatedly until she moves to another area. I'm thankful she is immortal as it means she can keep going. She seems to fixate on one or two people and keeps going after them until she gets frustrated or bored from getting killed trying to get them. Not sure how long it takes her to come back, but at least two or three days. Oni Lee showed that you can make her leave an area if you kill her enough. I can see why the PRT isn't exactly jumping at the chance to recruit her like they did with Shadow Stalker. It would be hard to market a vigilante who cuts people up with knives and constantly kills herself to the public.

► **Chilldrizzle**

Replied on October 10, 2010:

I'd buy her shirt. Anybody know her last known whereabouts? Last I heard she was out of the docks.

► **Morgan Sinister**

Replied on October 10, 2010:

I heard a rumor she was seen recently in the Downs. Sounds a little fake though, since there isn't as much crime there.

► **Lo A Quest**

Replied on October 10, 2010:

She might be following someone. It was mentioned before but she does tend to fixate on certain targets and might follow them somewhere else.

► **P-bird**

Replied on October 10, 2010:

Or she more likely is just taking a break. No one is a hero 24 7.

 **End of Page.** **1** **,** **2** **,** **3** **,** **4** **,** **5** **…** **10** **,** **11** **, 12**

 **Private message from GstringGirl:**

 **GstringGirl:** i really want to play it but the controls are too complicated. i've seen the videos and there are so many abilities paired to hotkeys and high level stuff requires you to point and click so fast. i have a nerve issue with my hands that makes typing hard.

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** What have you tried in the past? It does get complicated but I use a voice command system so I can shout fireball while moving and queuing up abilities. It takes some practice but you can have it activate based on your own choice of words. You can use my old one if you want, though it will take a little time for it to learn your voice. Just send me your address.

 **GstringGirl:** my parents are really strict and wouldn't like it if i got a package in the mail.

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** fair enough, my grandma doesn't really care what I do as long my grades don't go down. Here is a guy that runs a cheap place for custom hardware and you can buy the programs on the cheap. They have old joysticks too. That might be easier for you to use.

 **GstringGirl:** sounds great. i have some money saved up. i want to play and catch up before the new expansion comes out. how long does it take to fully level up?

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** Depends on how long you play a day. But at least a month or two. The expansion looks cool but I really hate the nerfs to the rune keeper.

 **GstringGirl:** sorry I did not reply but my sister wanted to use the computer. i checked the store and i can afford the prices. i can't wait to play, thanks again.

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** Glad to help. Know what you want to play as?

 **GstringGirl:** the paladin looks cool. i like playing as a healer.

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** Healers are bit boring but to each his own.

 **Topic: Epoch, the new vigilante cleaning up the streets  
In: Boards ► Places ► America ► Brockton Bay Discussion (Public Board)**

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX** (Original Poster)

 **Posted on October 10, 2010**

Though it was weird that there wasn't a thread for Epoch. I consider him a true hero who is bringing the fight against the villains of the city.

 **Private message from GstringGirl:**

 **GstringGirl:** thanks again, i've really gotten the hang of using my voice to make it easier. i still don't see why you don't like healers. their design is cute and i like the color blue.  
 **XxCowboy_of_the_VoidxX:** Because being a healer is boring and removing healers makes the game more exciting. Every move matters, you have to carefully weigh using healing items, and any encounter becomes much more dangerous. Why do you like healing? You get blamed if something goes wrong and you never notice a good healer.  
 **GstringGirl:** i like the responsibility and every decision i make matters. i also just like helping people. they are slow to level though and no one will let me join a raid until i'm level 30 at least.  
 **XxCowboy_of_the_VoidxX:** You can join up with me if you like. I'm planning to redo a raid and trying to not use a single healing item anyway.  
 **GstringGirl:** thanks again.  
 **XxCowboy_of_the_VoidxX:** That was fun, your voice sounded familiar somehow.  
 **GstringGirl:** I just have one of those voices. That was pretty fun. Have you played the new hero villain game by Skype?  
 **XxCowboy_of_the_VoidxX:** I'm saving up for it. I have a pretty cool job but there are days with good tips and bad tips. I've been having a lot of bad tips lately.  
 **GstringGirl:** I'm allowed to share it with a friend once I download it. Want to try it? **XxCowboy_of_the_VoidxX:** Love to. Hero or villain?  
 **GstringGirl:** Hero definitely.

 **Topic: Large explosion reported in Brockton Bay  
In: Boards ► Places ► America ► Brockton Bay Discussion (Public Board)**  
 **Bagrat** (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know) (Original Poster)

Posted on March 11, 2011:

Okay guys, something big just went down a few hours ago in the woods north of town. An explosion was reported on the police band, but it took them awhile to get there because the area is fairly isolated. A guy who lives nearby arrived on the scene before them and just posted this.

Notice the metal box topped with points? Definitely Kaiser's handiwork, and as the video goes on you can see several dismantled cars with Empire symbols displayed in the little barn area. The rumors of someone attacking businesses and people associated with the 88 seem to be true.

Edit: PRT has released a statement of an unknown parahuman or parahumans fighting the Empire, but no bodies or deaths are reported. All that blood is apparently non-human.

A separate attack on an Empire arms depot was also reported at the exact same time of the explosion. PRT is keeping mum on that one for now.

 **(Showing Page 9 of 9)**

► **White Fairy**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

Seems a little farfetched that there were no deaths. I mean look at all that blood!

► **NSyncSucksBalls**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

The earth had its period. But seriously the sheer amount of blood suggests it has to be fake. It would take dozens? hundreds? of people to produce all that.

Going by the big boot print, and scorch marks, The Twins, and Gischt, were definitely there. But what attacks? I haven't heard anything like that and I live in the 88's territory.

► **Laser Augment**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

Not surprised you didn't hear of it, apparently the Empire has been downplaying it. There are rumors of a gang attacking places/people loyal to the Empire. Stuff like stealing cars, and trashing businesses. There is one guy who always sweeps in front of a store by my job who likes to show off his tattoos. But he's been covering them up the last week so it seems someone really is targeting the Empire.

Think we got a spinoff of Carnal? The 15th Butcher was a blood user right?

► **Aku-42**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

There were two blood users, the 2nd Lancet, and Carnal. Carnal made the teeth hard to deal with since he could heal them en masse back in the day. Spinoff?

► **Whackograve**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

Read a textbook man. A few parahumans have been shown to have powers similar to their neighbors and some powers seem to run in families like New Wave. Spinoff is just the regular term for it. It has a scientific sounding name, but no one uses it. Hope it's a new hero.

► **Bothad**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

Doesn't sound like one. They stole a bunch of cars, attacked people's businesses, and started attacking people in the streets. Sound more like a rival gang than a hero.

► **XxCowboy of the VoidxX**

Replied on March 8, 2011

Someone stole a bunch of Nazi's cars; they attacked Nazi businesses, and attacked anyone wearing Nazi symbols. Changes the narrative a bit.

► **Bothad**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

Point taken, and the fact that no one died suggests some standards at least. But my original point still stands. Stealing cars, destroying property, and openly attacking people in the street, Nazi or not, doesn't suggest a hero.

► **Char**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

Could be a vigilante or a new villain with a few morals like Grue. It took forever before people accepted he wasn't a hero despite all his crimes simply because he occasionally helps the heroes and doesn't kill anyone.

► **Valkyr** (Wiki Warrior)

Replied on March 8, 2011:

Not sure why you guys seem so fixated on a single parahuman. The number of attacks and spread out area suggests a gang not a single person. Not to mention I doubt a single parahuman could take on the Empire all on their own. Even Lung needs some time to amp up before the Empire is no match for him.

► **Coyote-A**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

We're just suggesting members of the group. I thought it was obvious that a single parahuman couldn't have done it. The rumors suggest a group of guys, and the attack against a separate target of the Empire suggests at least two parahumans acting in concert.

► **Mock Moniker**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

Pretty much what Coyote said. Doesn't really matter though, we're going to enter another hot period with the Empire attacks. Spree has been raiding like crazy recently. First Lung than Accord. He'll definitely go after the Empire if he smells blood in the water.

► **Nod**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

Spree has been active so much recently because he might lose leadership to Skidmark when the Butcher comes back. While Spree fights and gains little to no territory, Skidmark has apparently been flooding the streets with some kind of cheap heroin. Really wish Dragon hadn't smashed the dark net for all those drug dealers, the streets were safer when the gangs didn't have to fight for territory.

► **Answer Key**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

It also didn't seem to do anything if he somehow is bringing in so much product. I just saw New Wave was in the news with a big arrest and a huge seizure of something, but it didn't really seem to do much.

► **Lost Record**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

Welcome to the Bay, where it's just a drop in the bucket man.

Well if it is a villain, I'm at least glad they are decent enough to not kill anyone. They PRT was quick to clean it up, but I'll never get the smell of tire necklace victims out of my head. Say what you will about the Marquis, at least he had class.

► **Fatstronaut**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

I'm a little surprised Kaiser hasn't responded yet. He keeps putting those videos on the net after a fight for a bigger impact asking people to join the fight. They get taken down pretty quick except the racist boards on other sites. But he hasn't done it yet. Think Coil made a play for more territory?

► **Miss Mercury** (Protectorate Employee)

Replied on March 8, 2011:

Nah, Coil never tries to expand from downtown. He had plenty of opportunity to take the docks when the Chain Gang got toasted, but he never tried. He usually only attacks if someone is about to attack him.

► **Space Zombie**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

I don't get why the Empire even went to the middle of nowhere expecting it not to be a trap. Its too far away for it to be a real base of operations for whoever is attacking them. Nothing out there except for a few farms.

 **End of Page.** **1** **,** **2** **,** **3** **,** **4** **,** **5** **…** **7** **,** **8** **, 9**

 **Private message from Slake (Verified Cape):**

 **Slake:** I noticed you made a new thread for Epoch. That is pathetic. Even for you.

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** I don't want to hear that from a coward like you. Shouldn't you be throwing juice on someone's homework or delivering a package like a good little toadie?

 **Slake:** Look, I don't want to talk to you either. But her dad keeps coming to my house to ask about her.

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** Did you say anything to him or your parents?

 **Slake:** No, I kept my promise.

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** Probably out of a fear we would spill the beans on your identity. Why do you even care about her? Just close your eyes and ears to people in need. You're good at that.

 **Slake:** My parents are going to get suspicious and he could find out who I am if he keeps showing up. Browbeat disappeared after his identity was leaked, and I'm not immortal like she is. Do you know where she is? You two worked together.

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** One time. We worked together one time and I could tell even then she was crazy. It doesn't surprise me at all what she did to her dad.

 **Slake:** You must know something. You claim to be a hero, then help me find her.

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** She doesn't want to be found and even if I wanted to help, I don't know where she is. Last I heard she was living in Accord's territory before being forced out. Grue helped her against Accord. Ask him.

 **Slake:** I don't know how and he'll want something in return.

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** Here. That's a number to a throw away phone. Just say you want some information and you're willing to buy it. Grue won't charge you much. He'll probably ask for a favor later. That is what he has done in the past.

 **Slake:** Do you really think she stabbed her dad because she was crazy or her power made her that way? You remember what the notes said about our mental state affecting what we got.

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** I'm not nutz if that is what you are asking. Are you?

 **Slake:** Of course not.

 **Slake:** I'm not a coward. You didn't do anything to help her either and my power isn't good at fighting.

 **Topic: Strange Disappearances and Abductions in Brockton  
In: Boards ► Places ► America ► Brockton Bay Discussion (Public Board)**

 **LaserSmile** (Original Poster)

Posted on March 15, 2011

I'm sure everyone has been hearing about all those reports of missing time that started to spread around. The PRT finally decide to take it seriously after it happened to a pair of police officers. Seriously the audio got leaked and it is creepy as hell.

 **(Showing Page 7 of 12)**

► **Chaosfaith**

Replied on March 15, 2011:

Its not showing up, think they blocked it. What exactly happened?

► **SenorEel**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

It shows the two officers reporting a guy acting suspiciously near the towers. They see a guy in a trench coat, off screen, and think he is a pervert with one of them joking about it. He ducks into an alley, and they get out to follow him when we hear them shouting and one of them screams and curses. The video fast-forwards an hour and they walk out completely fine and report to dispatch they didn't find anyone. They notice the lost time and act disoriented as the video ends. They probably checked the other reports of missing time and check the tape. It's really creepy that this is probably happening elsewhere.

► **ArchmageEin**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

Okay so a bunch of creepy bald guys in trench coats are being reported and people are disappearing for hours with no memories? Its obviously aliens and the trench coat guys are the men in black.

► **Tumbles**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

Multitool (Confirmed Parahuman)

Can't tell if you are serious or not. But if you are, you watch too many movies. This is the real world, not a movie. Sounds more like some government spooks taking people and running an experiment on them. They've done it before in Virginia and it's easy to take people in Brockton with all the kidnappings.

► **Xyloloup**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

How do we know it's not the Teeth and no one paid the ransom?

► **Procto the Unfortunate Tinker** (Not a tinker)

Replied on March 8, 2011:

Because most of the original disappearances were ABB, drug dealers, cops, lawyers, and a pawn shop owner. The Teeth target rich people who can pay a large ransom. I'm not sure if cops have kidnapping insurance, but the Teeth would just kill the ABB.

► **Sothoth**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

I don't believe the ABB are connected. There is a bunch of people jumping on the bandwagon of the disappearances for attention. The number of people coming forward today is huge apparently.

► **Good Ship morpheus**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

How do we know this isn't all just a bunch of bullshit? You notice how convenient it is that they lose their memories. Do you know that the reports of aliens and bigfoot have gone down drastically since the inventions of cell phone cameras? I think something weird did happen to a few people in the city, and a bunch of people are just taking advantage of it. Its like those freaks who always come forward to take credit for serial killers or try to join the 9.

► **HenchForLife**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

I swear to god, if I have to hear one more bigfoot was one of the first parahuman theories.

► **WagTheDog**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

Well there is research that shows that human memory is kind of crappy and that witness testimony is really bad. If you want to get out of jury duty all you have to do is say the name of a women who did that research and showed that personal bias greatly affects memories.

► **NSyncForever**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

Who exactly was that researcher?

► **WagTheDog**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

I forget.

► **Bruce Lao**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

Hah. The most likely explanation is a parahuman that just messes with memory. They probably got mastered. Probably a new villain if they are targeting cops, lawyers, and gang bangers. I agree that most of the new missing time cases are probably doing it for attention. It started and continues to happen mostly in the docks. Maybe it connected to whoever attacked the Empire?

► **NonDeceptive**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

Possible but the affects are too different. Nothing is being destroyed and no broken bones. Maybe it's Epoch skipping people forward in time?

 **XxCowboy in the voidxX:**

There hasn't been any evidence his power can go that far.

► **Nondeceptive**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

Honestly I don't really care who it is as its just a distraction to the cops. No one got hurt and this is Brockton, there is always going to be weird crap going on.

► **Antigone**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

We don't fit the profile but I wish we could afford a bodyguard going to and from the school. But they charge way too much nowadays.

► **CrazyCrossbow**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

You're not going to find anybody right now anyway. All this missing time stuff is causing all the wealthier families to scoop up whoever they can. I drive by Arcadia every day to work and you'd think the president was in town with all the big guys in suits. Makes traffic awful as hardly anyone seems to take the bus in that school.

► **Random Lurker**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

You could try Martyr. He charges like a thousand bucks for a week of being invincible.

► **Mr. Boogey**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

He also can only to that to a few people and he is really choosy about who he protects. He's a brute 6 but there are still things that can hurt him. Word is he feels the pain of everyone he touched too. Pretty shitty power.

► **Mrs. Boogey**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

Not as bad as scapegoat.

 **Private message from GstringGirl:**

 **GstringGirl:** I'm sorry to tell you this, but you are completely wrong.  
 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** There is now way they are going to kill off Blake. He's the main character.  
 **GstringGirl:** Book sales were down, and they want to shock the audience. Once he dies, everyone will know that no one is safe.  
 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** Okay, lets say I agree with this awful theory. Who killed him? Rose?  
 **GstringGirl:** Not too much evidence yet to make a good decision. Though you wouldn't know that from all the crazy theories on the web. I don't like Rose, but I don't think she would do it. My guess is one of the fairies.  
 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** Actually having him have a few adventures in the fairy realm could be interesting. Can't wait for the new book. I'm planning to line up at midnight. Care to come along?  
 **GstringGirl:** Sorry, my parents would never let me do it. Besides I always read digital.  
 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** Blasphemy.  
 **GstringGirl:** Face it, print media is dead.

 **Topic: New parahuman Echidna confirmed  
In: Boards ► Places ► America ► Brockton Bay Discussion (Public Board)**

 **DingDong** (Original Poster)

Posted March 17, 2011

New Parahuman confirmed by the PRT with the name Echidna and the ratings of Master 8 (Brute 2, Blaster 2, Stranger 2). Can make a variety of weird animals like wolves, snakes, monkeys, and birds that seem to be at least part plant and are "grown".

Just got if confirmed from the PRT office in New York, that they have had Othala in their custody for the last two days. Apparently Echidna drove all the way from Brockton to drop her off. I also learned from a reliable source that she was missing both of her index fingers when she was dropped off. The PRT followed the car and when they stopped it, the driver melted. Not a joke, the people at the site said the driver got out of the car with their hands up and then melted into green goo.

The PRT hasn't said anything else and they're being really quiet for some reason. They haven't answered any questions or statements beyond naming the person who did it. But word is a special FBI taskforce was assembled and sent here.

 **(Showing page 10 out of 10)**

► **Sorry Charlie**

Replied on March 17, 2011:

Dude, they called her the mythical mother of monsters and assembled a FBI task force for a newbie? That doesn't sound good. You don't think we have a Nilbog situation do you?

► **Bleeding Heart**

Replied on March 17, 2011:

Enough with the fear mongering. I get enough of that shit from the news. This always happens with new Masters. There's a cut to a clip from Adams being attacked, and the news uses the fear to get viewers/sell papers. Is she powerful? Yes. Is she the next Nilbog? No. The attacks against the ABB last night were isolated cases in a small area with few numbers. If she could have made a self replicating creature, she would have attacked with a lot more of her monsters. Besides the PRT wouldn't hide it.

► **Multitool (Verified Cape)**

Replied on March 17, 2011:

Pfffttt, the PRT wouldn't hide it, rrrrriiigggghhhtttt. Well you have to admit the FBI thing is weird. The bureau only shows up when the PRT is really worried about investigating and pursuing a parahuman. All those tensions you hear about between the PRT and other government departments are largely true. The FBI lost a lot of face after their taskforce failed to stop the 9 and one of their offices got destroyed. Echidna seems to have the PRT worried and the fact that they haven't had a press conference yet suggest something is up.

► **Fake name**

Replied on March 17, 2011:

It isn't necessarily a newbie and it doesn't sound like someone new if they were smart and knowledgeable enough to trick the Empire into a trap and operate in the docks with no one the wiser. There are always weird rumors in the Bay, and many rumors have an element of fact. There is the weird snake master rumors going around that apparently attacked the Teeth. Nothing definite, and the Teeth aren't exactly the most reliable of witnesses but apparently a man turned into a swarm of snakes and went after them.

► **Some other guy**

Replied on March 17, 2011:

If we are talking about weird animals stuff in Brockton, that isn't the only thing come to think of it. Do you guys remember the monkey sightings a few months ago? Here is a link but a bunch of monkeys were reported to be getting into garbage and stealing stuff from people. Then there is the wave of cockroaches at the docks here. They didn't disperse for twenty minutes. Sure sounds like Echidna has been here for several months at least.

► **Soulfur**

Replied on March 17, 2011:

ugh, I really should not have clicked that link while eating lunch. Okay so she's been here for months at least, why is she only showing up now?

► **G-Man**

Replied on March 17, 2011:

Building up her forces, practicing with her powers, waiting until the Butcher isn't here? Take your pick. I'm more worried about a villain with a similarity to Nilbog.

► **TrueTats**

Replied on March 17, 2011:

Nilbog? Please this is a bitch that doesn't know her place. She'll find out what happens to people who mess with the ABB.

► **Pygmy**

Replied on March 17, 2011:

Reminder to please no feed the trolls. I'm a little worried. She obviously is a wet Tinker and they're hard to deal with. Not to mention if she can straight up design and build a wolf or monkey from scratch, I think she can make something self-replicating.

► **Idle User**

Replied on March 17, 2011:

Wait she's a Tinker? Since when?

► **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:**

Replied on March 17, 2011:

They posted a recent video that shows one of Bonesaw's spiders fixing up an ABB who fell through a window. Which lets me lean toward her being a hero if she is willing to heal an enemy and she hasn't gone after anyone but gang members.

► **NotHuman**

Replied on March 17, 2011:

She copied Bonesaw! Now I feel the need to go vomit. Void she also attacked cops and lawyers. There is no way she isn't behind the disappearances and lost time. I'm not thinking she is a hero.

► **Fact Checker**

Replied on March 17, 2011:

Those cops got a lot of complaints against them and the lawyers were known to represent Empire clients in the past. At least that is what the news said.

► **Sleep Deprived**

Replied on March 17, 2011:

Okay so we know she can attack two places really far apart, so her range of control is huge. But she isn't using overwhelming numbers so it must take her time to make her monsters. But her Master 8 seems really high to me.

► **Johnny be good**

Replied on March 17, 2011:

She did ambush and take on most of the Empire just to kidnap Othala. Which is really brilliant as the Empire has been a bit too reliant on her healing. I haven't heard a peep from Kaiser in a video and Purity is the only reason the Teeth's raid didn't take any territory. So Master 8 seems fine. They didn't list a Tinker rating though. If she really is a Tinker what would that be?

► **Bopeep**

Replied on March 17, 2011:

Tinkers are really hard to rate by their very natures. The PRT's emp equipment isn't going to do jack against a living being, so at least a 6. If she is a Tinker and managed to copy Bonesaw's tech I think she should have a decent Trump rating too.

► **Snake Eyes**

Replied on March 17, 2011:

Well she seems to be limited to growing normal animals. So that isn't too bad. Bears, wolves, and birds can be stopped pretty easily. I think the only reason she is doing so well is the element of surprise. I think she should have a Thinker rating too if she can control them from such a large range. Plus her tactics is actually rather brilliant. The Empire and the Teeth have never been able to beat Lung and Echidna figures out you don't have to. She just ignores Lung and goes after the normal members and eventually the ABB is finished.

► **Truetats**

Replied on March 17, 2011:

 **Blocked**.

 **Tin Daughter** (Moderator) No threats. Enjoy the two day ban.

► **Aeon**

Replied on March 17, 2011:

Someone is in trouble. In more ways than one if Echidna is starting to go after regular ABB members.

► **Wicked**

Replied on March 8, 2011:

Still think they're blowing things out of proportion. She took down at most two dozen guys and lost all her monsters. She isn't that big of a deal.

 **End of Page.** **1** **,** **2** **,** **3** **,** **4** **,** **5** **…** **8** **,** **9** **, 10**

 **Private message from GstringGirl:**

 **GstringGirl:** You sounded a little down during the raid. Want to talk about it?  
 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** Just had a bad day at work and got a little humiliated by some new guys.  
 **GstringGirl:** Don't let them get you down. Want to play the new pirates game before bed? I'll let you be the captain.  
 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** With your naming sense, it probably would be better if I was the captain. The SS Irritable Bow really? I'd love to play but I can't. My grandmother will kill me if I fail anything and I stayed out late working. But forget about me, how was your day?  
 **GstringGirl:** Same old, same old. Nothing new ever really happens here. Go to school, eat with my family, play some games, go to bed.  
 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** How is your sister feeling?  
 **GstringGirl:** She is still a little green around the gills. The doctor said she needs some rest.  
 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** I envy that.  
 **GstringGirl:** What?

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** Having a sister.

 **GstringGirl:** You just have your grandma?

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** Yeah, never met my dad. Mom gave me up to my grandma when I was young. Gran is nice enough but she can't do much anymore. Think I'll call it a night.

 **GstringGirl:** Yeah, me too.

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** Sweet dreams.

 **Topic: Brockton Bay Safety Tips  
In: Boards ► Places ► America ► Brockton Bay Discussion (Public Board)  
Faust** (Original Poster) (Unconfirmed Cape)

Replied March 27, 2011

Hello Brockton Bay, my name is Faust.

I am the new cape who has started to fight the ABB in the docks. I started this thread to dispel some rumors about me and to give some helpful tips for keeping safe in the docks.

I want to start by saying I am a Hero. I will never attack civilians, and I do not kill. My creations are called Lusus Naturae. They do not self-replicate and they do not kill under any circumstances either. That said here a few safety tips for those in the docks

1\. If you do not mess with the Lusus, they will not mess with you. The Lusus are naturally shy around people and will try to go away from you unless they are under my specific control. As long as you do not attack them, they will avoid or ignore you.

2\. If you are member of the ABB, Teeth, or the Empire 88 you should avoid being out in public from the hours of 12am to 12pm, and 12pm to 12 am. I can't guarantee your safety otherwise.

3\. If you are truly worried about the Lusus, please put on anything smelling of Lilacs. They actively avoid anything smelling it.

4\. If you wish for assistance from the Lusus, please use a whistle and they will come running if nearby. Though if you are trying to ambush them, I have a special surprise prepared just for you.

I knew that my power would never be trusted by the PRT, and that is why for the longest time I never used my power. I was content to keep my head down, and try to avoid everyone. But the gangs forced my hand. I am sick and tired of people being afraid of walking the streets at night. I am sick of people being worried about being attacked for being seen as different, because they're vulnerable, or because the PRT doesn't want things to escalate. Well the gangs escalated first and if they won't hold back, then neither will I.

 **(Showing Pages 92 of 92)**

 **► Kingless**

Replied on March 29, 2011:

Guys things are crazy right now. What the hell are the heroes doing? There are guys with guns everywhere, and I'm afraid to go out at night.

► **Grapejoint**

Replied on March 29 ,2011:

Brockton was always a shithole but it's a warzone out there. If you're in the docks avoid going through the alleys behind 7th street. Saw something big moving there. Swear to Scion it looked like some kind of furless, and horned bear.

► **Beauty Four**

Replied on March 29,2011:

Pics or it didn't happen. Besides who the hell is going outside right now? I know what you mean about things being crazy. The perfume aisle is empty at the mall, and there are a bunch of people charging for bottles of lilacs. I don't know what lilacs actually smell like so I don't want to spend the money on a bottle till I know for sure.

► **Cute Frong**

Replied on March 29,2011:

Lilacs smell like a sweet rose and a hint of vanilla. It's a light but a thick scent. Unlike lilac a rose has a more light and thin scent while the lilac has a heavy vanilla-y scent. Probably smart to save your money unlike all those other people selling bottles. The body works store near by house got robbed of everything vanilla smelling. Who robs a bath and body works store?

► **Stalking Tanuki**

Replied on March 29,2011:

The ABB for sure. They're putting on a good show of fighting Faust, but you can tell they're scared. All of them at school move in large groups and they've been lying low recently. Before you could always find a dealer on the corner. Now they're nowhere to be found.

► **Liehoarder**

Replied on March 29,2011:

Okay so here is what we have confirmed for the Lusus Nature, Or whim of nature for those of you without the internet.

Wolves

Monkeys

Birds

bears

Somekind of human shaped thing, described as looking part ape.

Something that can shoot a glue that knocks people out blocks away.

Am I missing anything?

► **PrudishP**

Replied on March 29,2011:

You forgot snakes and rats. Hard to tell what is fact or rumor right now, but word is every guy in a brothel got swarmed by rats. Correction huge rats the size of a small dog. The heroes have been patrolling and picking up a bunch of ABB walking around with guns on them. Some of them look relieved to be picked up to be honest. Though she isn't killing anyone. Just breaking bones.

► **Heckyes**

Replied on March 29,2011:

It's actually pretty smart. Fact of our justice system is that some people just don't care about going to jail. Its just a normal thing that happens. They get out and start selling to afford bail or other fees. But Faust breaks a guys arms in a way that it takes months to heal. Then if she catches you again and again she just keeps breaking bones. Eventually you physically can't commit a crime.

► **Valkyr** (Wiki Warrior)

Replied on March 29,2011:

Has anyone whistled in the docks for help? What happened?

► **Vauge20**

Replied on March 29,2011:

Oh yeah, a few ABB did it to ambush a Lusus and they lost an hour of time before showing up at the hospital in pain. They'll probably put it on the news soon but each of them had 80+ tapeworms come out of their nose, mouth, and anus at once. For the love of god, do not do an image search.

► **Hunter**

Replied on March 29,2011:

I really, really, didn't need to know that.

► **DarkArrow**

Replied on March 29,2011:

They deserved it and worse. I for one celebrate a "real" hero showing up and putting them in their place.

► **Big Mom**

Replied on March 29,2011:

I can't believe I'm saying it, but I agree. It's been way too long since we've had a new hero in the bay and she is kicking ass and taking names. Though I can't figure out why the ABB keeps flooding the streets. Doesn't it just give Faust and the heroes more targets?

► **Uber** (Verified Cape)

Replied on March 29,2011:

It does, but they have a good reason to patrol all the alleyways. If they don't, Faust could sneak more and more Lusus in the docks for an ambush and they have to deal with greater numbers. But it's really a bad tactical decision and shows that the ABB really does rely too much on Lung. I mean patrols don't even know if they've had their memory erased.

► **Even More Dakka**

Replied on March 29,2011:

They're trying a few things. They all constantly send texts to each other and Bakuda has started arming them with her tech. You can see a picture in the paper today of an alley filled with hard ice that froze a guy and one of her Lusus. Though Lung apparently broke the ice apart to grab it for study.

► **UglyDreamer**

Replied on March 29,2011:

I'm surprised the Empire hasn't made a raid to take advantage of the chaos. They've got more parahumans and would probably do better against the Lusus.

► **RandomMook**

Replied on March 29,2011:

They're having some kind of internal conflict and Hookwolf killed several Empire soldiers and one of their new parahumans so it has to be serious. They also still haven't fully healed from their fight with Faust and Othala is still in New York.

► **SuperHappyFunBall**

Replied on March 29,2011:

Oni Lee was reported being seen in Empire territory. Not sure what that is about, but do you think Lung is trying to make a treaty with Kaiser to deal with Faust? They've teamed up before against the Butcher.

► **Shhhhh**

Replied on March 29,2011:

Doubt it. Kaiser is lying low and regaining strength and it is in his best interest to let them fight it out and weaken each other.

 **Private message from TDH:**

 **TDH:** Hey, though I should tell you that Fa*st wants to meet with you  
 **XxTick TockxX:** What! She wants to meet me? Explain.  
 **TDH:** Your former partner called me out of the blue just now and she said she wants to meet you with a proposition. I told her I would pass on the message if I got to meet her as well for a talk.  
 **XxTick TockxX:** She was never my partner. I'm a lone wolf.  
 **TDH:** Sure, whatever you say. So you in?

 **XxTick TockxX:** F ck yeah.  
 **TDH:** Try to keep a low profile and meet me where we first teamed up.  
 **XxTick TockxX:** Got it.

 **TDH:** I'm serious. We're in dangerous territory. LOW PROFILE.

 **XxTick TockxX:** Please, I'll be completely invisible. Stealth is my middle name.

 **Topic: Brockton Bay Lusus Watching  
In: Boards ► Places ► America ► Brockton Bay Discussion (Public Board)  
Birder** (Original Poster)

Replied March 31, 2011

If you couldn't tell by my name, I happen to be a bit of birder. I'm very familiar with the birds in the city. The last few weeks have been really exciting because I've seen a few birds that are obviously not normal. Their feathers and body structure are off, their behavior is weird, and a few just give off a unnatural vibe. So bird watching has been really interesting lately and judging by the fact that all the bird pamphlets at the tourist center are always gone, I think I'm not the only one watching the skies. Made a thread so everyone can post any weird animals that look like they are Lusus in disguise.

 **(Showing page 54 of 54)**

► **Fancy Dan**

Replied on March 31,2011:

Wanted to show this video. See the horn causes all the other birds to move except that fucking thing at the end of the line. Doesn't make a move or a sound as the rest of the flock flies away. Its got to be one of her Lusus.

► **Elvis is an alien**

Replied on March 31,2011:

Creepy man. Reminds me of the damn dog from the Thing. Wait…..do you think Faust can make a Thing?

► **moon shadow**

Replied on March 31,2011:

No, theres no way. (Thinks about it.) Fuck. Welp I'm convinced. Time to move.

► **Louis**

Replied on March 31,2011:

Considering the wide range of her Lusus, I think I have to say yes. Especially if she can make a one that looks/acts exactly like Lung. I might be a tin foil hat but I think she is slowly infiltrating the ABB just like the Thing.

► **R.O.B.**

Replied on March 31,2011:

What happened to the master gallery that showed all the weird looking people in the docks? I swear it was there yesterday.

► **Whatif** (CapeGroupie)

Replied on March 31,2011:

It got removed because the mods thought it could incite violence and was making people more paranoid if that is possible.

► **Knowme**

Replied on March 31,2011:

I don't know how anybody functions in the docks anymore. I can feel her watching me wherever I go. I never realized how many birds there were in the city until I read this fucking thread. I can't even trust the people in the docks as any of them could be one of them.

► **Mr. Fabuu**

Replied on March 31,2011:

I got a great pick of two of her monkeys. They have four arms and are wearing cute little vests. [1]

► **AndroidLincoln**

Replied on March 31,2011:

Well at least those are adorable. There is plenty of picks that just show them jumping at someone's face. Though their eyes look a little too intelligent and the vests show she has them using tools in the docks.

► **Captain Obvious**

Replied on March 31,2011:

I got a great pic of a crow. [1]

► **Slam**

Replied on March 31,2011:

That's just a regular crow. Looks completely normal.

► **Captain Obvious**

Replied on March 31,2011:

Are you blind? Look how big it is compared to the others.

► **Slam**

Replied on March 31,2011:

Crows can get pretty big. Besides it's standing over a house in the suburbs. Why the hell would Faust be spying there?

► **Moo**

Replied on March 31,2011:

Those soccer moms, and badly kept yards must be the heads of an evil conspiracy.

► **Yes Mam**

Replied on March 31,2011:

I always knew the PTA was evil. The crow proves it.

► **Golden Dawn**

Replied on March 31,2011:

This thread gave me an idea. Lets say you want to ask Faust for help. Everyone told me she never answers on PHO, but what about just putting a sign on the roof asking for help? She can see through her birds so she will see it and come to talk with whoever put it up right? It's probably a stupid idea.

► **The Winged One**

Replied on ,2011:

At the very least it will make you feel like you are doing something. It can't hurt to try. What's the worst that can happen?

► **Golden Dawn**

Replied on March 31,2011:

You're right. Thanks.

► **The Winged One**

Replied on ,2011:

Good luck

 **End of Page.** **1** **,** **2** **,** **3** **,** **4** **,** **5** **…** **8** **,** **9** **, 10**

 **Private message from P-bird:**

 **P-bird:** We need to talk.  
 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** Ummm….okay? Who are you?  
 **P-bird:** We met earlier today along with our mutual acquaintance who didn't have legs.  
 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** What do you want Emma.  
 **P-bird:** Don't use my real name! If I get found out, I'll tell everyone who Slake and Epoch are.  
 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** Relax, you won't get found out and I remember the deal we made. What do you want?  
 **P-bird: :** I want to come to an understanding. We're going to work together with her, and I want to set some ground rules. Don't bring up anything about who I am, don't needle or allude to what I did in the past in front of her, and don't  
 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** Fine but on two conditions. Your father keeps going to M's house looking for you. First send him a message so he knows your alive. Trust me, I am well aware of you not caring about others based on what you did to T. If she gets found out, so do you and I. Second, don't contact me again.

 **Private message from P-bird:**

 **P-bird:** You know you're fooling yourself right? You're not a hero. You're a stupid kid who likes to play at one so you can feel better about yourself. You don't matter. I'm the one making a difference. I'm that found it. You were never supposed to be there. Taylor never knew you even existed and she'd laugh if she found out you went to that bullying meeting out of guilt for not doing anything.

 **(User Cowboy of the Void has blocked you)**

 **Private message to GstringGirl:**

 **GstringGirl:** Sorry it took so long to respond, I was in the shower and that is my me time. What did you need?

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** Do you want to meet up? Get Coffee?

 **GstringGirl:** Oh. Wow. My parents are really strict, so I don't think I'll be able to.

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** Look, I know this is weird to say out the blue but I really like you. I think you like me to and I want to see where this goes. I want to be truthful and you could think I'm a creep. So this is  me. Not that handsome, but I have gotten in better shape recently. Do you want to have a webcam chat?

 **GstringGirl:** I'm sorry I can't show you who I am

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** Why? I think you like me. Was I wrong about that?

 **GstringGirl:** No, I do like you. But… I'm sorry

 **GstringGirl:** You haven't replied, so I sent you a text. I can't receive texts back, so PM me, please.

 **GstringGirl:** I just wanted to hang out and play a few games. You were the one who approached me so don't jump straight to the conclusion that I'm a "middle aged pervert trying to get into your pants".

 **GstringGirl** ***New Message*** : theres a reason i cant send a photo but i don't want to have to explain,., cant we just go back to the way things were?  
 **GstringGirl *New Message*:** :(

 **(User Cowboy of the Void has blocked you)**

 **Topic: Nilbog thread XXII  
In: Boards ► Places ► America ► Brockton Bay Discussion (Public Board)**

 **Toy Soldier** (Original Poster)

Replied on April August 12, 2010  
Made new thread since we ran out of room

 **(Showing Page133 out of 133)**

► **Lucky Guess**

Replied on April 12, 2011:

Just saw the new documentary on his attack. The way they built the wall so fast is pretty interesting. A bunch of engineers worked with two parahumans to make it fast and they perfected that tech for blocking off cities visited by the Simurgh.

► **Soft Murmur**

Replied on April 12, 2011:

I haven't watched it as all it does is make me mad. My brother was stationed at Fort Drum and was part of the second wave. The PRT kept warning the military not to bomb and they did it anyway which made more of those worm things and they spread out. It wasn't until they were overrun that the military finally got its shit together and sounded a retreat. If they hadn't bombed we could have gotten more than a few dozen survivors out and everything ten miles outside Adams wouldn't be his.

► **GG**

Replied on April 12, 2011:

What it like living there now?

► **CarMania**

Replied on April 12, 2011:

Its kind of surreal from my perspective. My sister got accepted to Syracuse and his territory is just south of it. We took the new 181 roads they built, and you can see the walls for miles. My mom didn't want her to go there, but he hasn't moved in a decade.

► **Jdog**

Replied on April 12, 2011:

They have satellite images you can watch that show his Lusus farming on a large scale and they're doing something in the lake nearby.

► **CarMania**

Replied on April 12, 2011:

Lusus?

► **Hard Boil**

Replied on April 12, 2011:

That's what Faust calls her creations.

► **P-bird**

Replied on April 12, 2011:

Faust is not Nilbog. I'm so sick of people comparing her to him.

► **Silverhaired Senior (** Adams Survivor)

Replied on April 12, 2011:

You have to admit she is obviously not right in the head.

► **P-bird**

Replied on April 12, 2011:

Are you defending the Teeth?

► **Silverhaired Senior (** Adams Survivor)

Replied on April 12, 2011:

No, but I don't approve of torture or cruel and unusual punishment. We shouldn't become monsters to catch monsters. Otherwise we are no different or better than them. She also caused two parahumans to trigger. Are you telling me that a person like that is someone you trust with her power?

► **Goodgirl9**

Replied on April 12, 2011:

I don't know why people are so against her. I find her inspiring and I'm a big fan. Though my mom doesn't like her. But I didn't know that she caused two people to trigger. Do we know who they are?

► **Shire Realtor**

Replied on April 12, 2011:

Yeah, both had rather public triggers. Transplant is the guy who triggered just from listening to what she did to the Teeth. He can re-distribute 'whole units' of biomass, and he is now working as a healer who performs transplants/biopsies/tumor removal without surgery. He did an interview, which was painful to watch as that reporter was an asshole who kept asking awkward questions about Faust. He admitted to being far more limited than Panacea since, as he said quote, "I cant heal people, I just move health around". But he is also a scary blaster because his power can work from distance and isn't bound my the Manton effect. So he can theoretically teleport a person's heart to his hands.

The second guy was a former ABB enforcer who became a shut in after Faust broke his arm. He swore up and down that Faust was spying on him and that everyone in his building was a Lusus. The cops got called by the neighbors after he started screaming. When the cops showed up he used a parahuman power on them, but they subdued him. He's in a mental asylum now.

► **Pew Pew**

Replied on April 12, 2011:

So everyone agrees that Faust can make her stuff self replicating right? Then why hasn't the PRT made a move on her yet.

► **El Rey**

Replied on April 12, 2011:

The constitution. You can't just arrest someone for something they "might do". There was that famous case in Florida where the lawyer argued that no one arrests every person who can start a fire with a lighter, after the cops arrested a known parahuman, a Sunday school teacher, who they suspected of starting a major fire just because she lived in the same city.

► **Pew Pew**

Replied on April 12, 2011:

What happened in that case?

► **El Rey**

Replied on April 12, 2011:

The judge through it out and she sued the crap out of the Sherriff's department.

► **P-bird**

Replied on April 12, 2011:

Sound like a great lady. What happened to her?

► **El Rey**

Replied on April 12, 2011:

She died fighting Leviathan when he attacked New York.

 **End of Page.** **1** **,** **2** **,** **3** **,** **4** **,** **5** **…** **131** **,** **132** **, 133**

 **Private message from** **Greenhands.**

 **Greenhands:** Sorry it took so long to respond, there was a death in my family right after I got home.

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** Talk about bad timing. I'm sorry. You okay?

 **Greenhands:** Well, I don't think I will ever be truly okay. Comes with the territory but I'm managing.

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** I take it you have something in mind.

 **Greenhands:** Yeah, I was thinking you, P-bird, and I could work together. I have a plan for Mr. Dragon and his little brood but I want to play it safe until its ready to enact. That way they won't know what hit them.

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** Sure. Just PM me when you're ready. Grue is extremely pissed at you for taking away his dog by the way.

 **Greenhands:** It was never his dog, and I can help her more than he can. I also have a message to pass on from P-bird.

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** Yes?

 **Greenhands:** For whatever it is worth, she is sorry for what she said.

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** Thanks, I guess. Can I ask you a question?

 **Greenhands:** Sure.

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** Do you know a good way to get information on someone online?

 **Private message from** **Aristotle:**

 **Aristotle:** I have the information you want, and it was not easy at all. The security was crazy but I can see why. Here you go.

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** This. Is this true?  
 **Aristotle:** Every word. Though the body count isn't really her fault. She can't control herself.

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** I can't believe it. Can she take visitors?

 **Aristotle:** Yes, but you will be screened and I have a feeling you don't want to tip them off yet. Does it change anything now that you know?

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** Of course it does. I mean she can't ever go outside but she is my best friend. I'm not exactly a good looking person myself, and her appearance won't stop me liking her.  
 **Aristotle:** Well lucky for you that while your girlfriend has a few issues with her body, you just so happen to know an expert.

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** What do I owe you?

 **Aristotle:** Nah, its on the house. I'm a sucker for young love. Besides she lied. She desperately wants to have that coffee with you. I mailed you the plans for her building. Just in case.

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX:** Thank you. Can you send her a message that won't be searched or archived?

 **Aristotle:** Take a little work but sure.

 **Topic: Faust the Angel using the Devil's methods  
In: Boards ► Places ► America ► Brockton Bay Discussion (Public Board)**

 **(Showing Page 147 of 147)**

► **Bleeding Heart**

Replied on April 20th, 2011:

How can you say that at this point? She kicked the Butcher's Teeth in. The Butcher ran from her, and some people are saying there will never be another Pit fight again in Brockton. EVER.

► **G-Man**

Replied on April 20th, 2011:

Look at her methods, and what she did to the Teeth. The sound of it was so bad she caused someone else to trigger, and you want to celebrate a person who could be the next Nilbog escalating?

► **Bleeding Heart**

Replied on April 20th, 2011:

Let her escalate! What city do you live in? I can walk in the docks right now in the middle of the night and I will be in the safest part of the city. You heard the news, the docks are now statistically safer than the Towers. No more gunshots, no more being afraid, no more worried about someone kidnapping me for a ransom or worse. I heard that Faust forcibly turned the owner and guards of a brothel into women and then sold them to another.

► **TrueTats**

Replied on April 20th, 2011:

That is just a rumor. So is the one about paralyzing the jay walker and making it so a known drunk and trouble maker could never keep down alcohol.

► **NotHuman**

Replied on April 20th, 2011:

Current toll is 1, 834 ABB, Teeth, and Empire taken down by her. Granted most of that is the Pit Fight, and I have to agree that she has changed the docks. The ABB is still around but no one is wearing their colors and I never see guys out after dark anymore. The question I have is what she is waiting for? Considering what she did to the Empire and Teeth why hasn't she made a move on the docks yet?

► **Sleep Deprived**

Replied on April 20th, 2011:

She can't go all out in the city. The Empire and the Teeth were in an area empty of people and she could use whatever methods she wanted. She has to be careful of using biological agents where they could hurt civilians. I originally thought she was doing a war of attrition. The ABB can't replace their losses as fast as she can replace the Lusus and she'll win in the long run.

► **Aeon**

Replied on April 20th, 2011:

How do you know the docks aren't already hers? You saw all that video of the Lusus who can look like normal human beings suddenly attack the Teeth. We could have an invasion of the pod people here. She sends them in and slowly replaces the ABB. Then just poison Lung and Bakuda in her sleep.

► **Dr. Doctor PHD**

Replied on April 20th, 2011:

We still aren't sure how intelligent she can make the Lusus. They are too coordinated for her to not be controlling them, but she admitted that they aren't as smart when left alone.

► **The Claw**

Replied on April 20th, 2011

She said they're shy and won't bother us, not that they aren't smart. After the video of the Pit Fight we have proof she has been using Lusus that act like humans as traps. So those rumors of pretty girls being mugged and suddenly splitting their heads open to attack are true. If she can do that, it stands to reason she would want them to be able to act and pass for human as much as possible. Considering her actions, I don't think she would have a problem just making sentient Lusus.

► **Captain Hammer**

Replied on April 20th, 2011:

I don't understand why you all are supporting her. The PRT declared her a villain. She is using weaponized diseases against criminals, and decides to just skin people if they don't give her information. Am I the only one that can see something bad is going to happen?

► **Jaws**

Replied on April 20th, 2011:

Something big is going to come to head soon, that's for sure. Othala skipped town after making her bail. Which means the 88 will be back up to full strength soon. The Teeth's roster took a major hit after Faust attacked, so I am fairly certain Kaiser will make a move soon now that Purity has rejoined them.

► **Lookout**

Replied on April 20th, 2011:

Purity is powerful but she isn't invincible. Don't forget that Grue and the Undersiders worked with Faust. Not sure if they are in an alliance or not, but Faust hasn't touched them.

► **It was his sled**

Replied on April 20th, 2011:

She might not be able to. I heard on the grapevine that Grue's darkness can keep the Lusus from moving. It block's Faust's control of them. Faust's range is too large for it to guarantee a win against her but there might be more to his darkness if she won't go after him. Grue went after a few Teeth north of town yesterday and apparently met with Purity who showed up to talk with him.

► **Chilldrizzle**

Replied on April 20th, 2011:

If Faust is really a Trump as well as a Tinker, it's smart for the villains to team up against her. In fact they should have been doing that in the first place. Send in the heavy hitters against her. Lung, Purity, Grue, and Rebar working together could stop her.

► **Nod**

Replied on April 20th, 2011:

Too dangerous without knowing how her Trump power works and her range is too large find her real body. Decoys are a specialty of hers, and they could all be booby trapped so you wake up on her operating table. Imagine Faust with Purity's speed and firepower. She could spread her viruses while blasting anyone strong enough to resist.

► **Answer Key**

Replied on April 20th, 2011:

Everyone is waiting for something to happen here in the docks. You can feel this tension walking down the street. The ABB aren't going out at night at all anymore. If they do they don't wear their colors and they make short trips. Faust has had the last week to build up her forces but short of a brief team up with Phoenix and Epoch to take down Oni Lee. I haven't heard or seen anything at night. Which makes me worried.

► **Space Zombie**

Replied on April 20th, 2011:

She's definitely planning something. The ABB have to realize she is holding back after what she did to the Teeth. I almost feel sorry for them. There was a gunshot in the building across the street, and it turned out a rat had crawled out of the toilet. The guy inside freaked out and destroyed his toilet shooting the rat. But it was just a normal rat, it didn't melt when it died.

► **Hench For Life**

Replied on April 20th, 2011:

Faust's rats are supposed to come in swarms and all her Lusus are probably poisonous in some way. I for one think she is the best thing to happen to Brockton in years. The one I'm worried about is Lethe. Her power is scary too if you think about it. You can never be sure your memory hasn't been wiped and you have been experimented on. Do you think any of the humanoid Lusus realize they aren't human?

► **Mr. Fabuu**

Replied on April 20th, 2011:

Thank you for that. That doesn't creep me out or make me more paranoid at ALLL.

 **(Showing Page 148 of 148)**

► **Bruce Lao**

Replied on April 21st, 2011:

Hey guys, I think something is going down in the docks. Its 2 am and all the lights just went off and there are some little tremors constantly going off and my phone isn't working. Anybody know anything?

► **Bruce Lao**

Replied on April 21st, 2011:

Shit, I just heard gunfire. Something is going down. I'm going to open a window to get a closer look.

► **White Fairy** (Veteran Member)

Replied on April 21st, 2011:

Be careful.

► **Bruce Lao**

Replied on April 21st, 2011:

HOLY FUCK guys, I just saw a giant fucking spider crawl up the building across the street. Look

► **White Fairy** (Veteran Member)

Replied on April 21st, 2011:

Well that just got lazer printed in my brain forever. What is it doing there?

► **Bruce Lao**

Replied on April 21st, 2011:

The spider has been sitting there for several minutes not doing anything. More gunshots, and I'm hearing screaming.

► **Bruce Lao**

Replied on April 21st, 2011:

Fuck me, it just pulled a guy out the window.

► **Bruce Lao**

Replied on April 21st, 2011:

They're in the streets. Jesus man, there has to be a dozens of them climbing up the buildings. Call the fucking cops, Faust is making her move. I gotta call my mom she lives close by.

► **Laser Augment**

Replied on April 21st, 2011:

Something huge just roared and set off all the car alarms parked along the water.

Edit: You will never believe what just walked past my window, and for reference I live on the 3rd floor of my building. Here.

► **Coyote-A**

Replied on April st, 2011:

No. Fucking. Way.

 **Private message to** **GstringGirl:**

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX** :So I'm not sure how to start this. First of all I want to say I'm sorry for blocking you and I hope you'll forgive me for that. I was mad and hurt that you didn't want to tell me who you really were. I thought I was idiot and you took advantage of me. So I had someone look into who you were. I know that is stalkerish, so I thought I'd share who I am. My name is Greg. I just turned 16, and I'm the superhero Epoch. I also know your name is Sveta and you're a case 53.

First I just want you to know that I don't care at all what you look like. I've never had friends before. I talk too much and I'm not good at social stuff. I make mistakes, I'm rude, I'm selfish, and worse. I use to think we deserved each other because of old movies. The nerds stick together but that isn't right. I want to be together because you're my best friend and I miss you. Even if you don't want to be more than friends, that's okay. I'd be fine just staying how we use to be. Do you want to be my girlfriend?

 **GstringGirl:** I do want to more than friends, but it isn't fair to you. I can't leave. My body makes me dangerous to be around. I really like you, but we have to stop this. If I went out I'd get nervous and I could crush you. I can't control how my brain works.

 **XxCowboy of the VoidxX** : I know someone who can help you with that and they owe me a favor. Here is a place for us to talk more in private. Do you want to play and see where this goes or we can just got back to what we were before.

 **GstringGirl:** Lets do it.

* * *

X

X

X

X

X

Damn, that took awhile. Pretty much everyone guessed who Epoch and Phoenix were. What exactly happened to Emma will be shown in a future interlude, maybe an mini arc. She has gone through alot. Also met Taylor's fourth and final minion with who is going to go a bit transhuman. Next arc will just be Taylor trying to manage her new employees and prepare for her big move. Then she finally becomes a warlord. I know its supposed to be void cowboy but Cowboy of the void is the one he chose since its an AU. Same with Tin Daughter instead of mother for Dragon. Greg almost had Void's power mentioned in 1-1 who was a teleporting tinker. But he realistically wouldn't have stayed alive or independent for very long in this Brockton Bay. Sorry about the weird spacing at times, it won't let me fix for some reason on here. 

The Winged one-The Simurgh

Golden Dawn- Sierra

Char- Charlotte

DarkArrow- Sophia

Goodgirl9- Bonesaw


	20. 4-1

4-1

I'm not sure I can die anymore.

Obviously I'm not going to test it, but a part of me will almost certainly live on in my killer. If I follow what happened to the first Butcher, I will remain in control of the Collective. Though I'm not sure if it is just a copy of my consciousness. Dissonant and Forearmed hadn't been sure if they were the real ones or a just a copy made from the original's memories.

Considering the statistics and how dangerous the Endbringers are, I am not naïve enough to not think I won't ever be killed. No power is perfect and I live in a dangerous world. Ever since I became a Butcher I've been very distracted thinking about what will happen to me when I die.

This has only increased since Dissonant and Forearmed "died" and left a profound quiet in my head. Despite all the drawbacks and fears I had with them taking up space in my head, I still find myself missing them. To be completely honest with myself, the real reason was that with them, even for brief moment, I wasn't alone anymore.

Human beings are social animals after all and I've been isolated for so long since I lost Emma. I love Dad, but he isn't someone I truly talk and interact with on a daily basis. I consider Sierra a friend but she works for me. Not to mention her job is to try and stop me if I ever cross a line, which always colors our interactions.

Rachel has severe social issues, and I honestly think her power has impaired them in some way. While the new implant should make it easier for her to interact with others, I wasn't sure how she felt about me. She followed my directions and things had been a lot easier after I started improving the lives of her dogs. But she always preferred to be with her dogs and she remained a little wary of me. Especially after she found out what I was.

Charlotte was seeing a very well paid therapist three times a week and she was a little bit better now that she was actually helping me. She wanted to "do something" in her own words, but that had its own problems. She was just a little too obsessed with helping me. I gave her a few odd jobs around the lab to help monitor the Lusus, and now she would consistently volunteer to spend all day in the lab for me. When I mentioned that I was interested in figuring out the law about setting up a clinic, she had spent days researching and making a list of steps for me.

It was also a little off putting how much she catered to me. I was a hero, but I'm far from perfect. But I just didn't want to reprimand her since she still seemed so fragile. Even Rachel was strangely protective of her. I had been reading on PTSD and the theory was that it was due to issues with short-term memory, with talking about it in depth potentially transferring the memories into long-term storage and thus making recovery easier.

I had an experiment we could try with her implant based on the idea, but I nixed it until it was tested on someone else. Sierra agreed that we shouldn't mention it to Charlotte until then, as she would do it with no hesitation considering the nature of her enhancements.

I had given Charlotte a very long list of possible enhancements and she had chosen to make herself poisonous in almost every way possible. Her blood, her spit, hidden injectors in her hands, a special compartment so she could breathe installed poison gas, enhanced strength, and a built in way to release a virus similar to my own enhancements. She had decided on her own to give herself the codename Manchineel. The name of the most poisonous tree in the world, one which Columbus had called the little apple of death. For the moment she was okay, but I was keeping a close eye on her.

Things had at least been going well with Phoenix and Epoch. Phoenix was very enthusiastic with working with me but she didn't want to work under me. Her body language was hard to read but I respected her wishes. She and Epoch had helped me take down Oni Lee with a few poisonous birds and an ambush set up that had worked perfectly.

Between my preparations for my offensive against the ABB, Dissonant and Forearmed's recent deaths, and dealing with Rachel and Charlotte, I was pretty busy. This was made much worse by the fact that it wasn't nearly as easy to get away from home as it used to be due to the other giant distraction in my life.

"A bit of light reading early in the morning Taylor?" Hannah asked looking over my shoulder. "Economics, management for dummies, and the cycle of poverty?"

"Hmmm…." I said looking at up Hannah with a perfect smile. "Just doing some extra credit for my online economics class. After dad and the union beat the governor's bill I've been a little interested in the economics of the docks."

"Well, I'm glad you're so interested in your schoolwork. Do you want some breakfast? I was going to make an omelet before I started my run."

"I'm going to grab something at the deli later. Aren't you on duty today?"

"I am tonight, but my shift isn't until 4. You can still join me if you want. I can see you've made definite progress but you have to work to maintain your current level of fitness."

" _That's easy to say for someone who literally can't get tired_ ," I thought to myself.

"Okay, be sure to tell me if you change your mind," she said as she turned on the stove.

It was still a little surreal to know that Miss Militia was over at my house all the time. She acted sort of how I pictured Miss Militia acting at home. Wearing American flag pajama bottoms and being very ordered and clean. She worked out constantly and I've never seen our kitchen so clean. She was nice, thoughtful, treated me like an adult, and made dad very happy. But she had one major flaw.

She wouldn't leave me alone.

The entire past week she kept insisting on cooking dinner for us, and Dad was making an effort to get home early for us to be together at her place or ours. She constantly wanted to talk with me or do things together, from game nights to watching a movie. If it weren't so annoying, it would almost be cute.

Even worse I was fairly confident she didn't actually need to sleep. Her muscles still got sore based off of my covert scans of her after she worked out, but she was always so full of energy. It made it far easier for her to build up and maintain her impressive fitness level. When she slept over, she always got up after Dad finally fell asleep.

Sometimes she would stay in the kitchen reading, workout, or watch TV. On other occasions she left and I assumed headed to a patrol for the PRT. I'm 99% positive Dad knew who she was. The fact that she never slept, and always had a weapon on her made it impossible to hide her identity in the long run.

Not to mention the new security cameras hidden on the outside of the house was very advanced and Hannah wasn't the type to have those installed without telling Dad. While it wasn't too hard to hack into and change their feed, the constantly changing password made sneaking out of the house a chore.

"Morning kiddo," Dad said coming down the stairs dressed for work. He smiled at Hannah as he poured coffee.

"Breakfast should be ready in a few minutes Daniel," Hannah said.

"That's okay, I just need some coffee," Dad said breathing deep from the cup he had poured.

Hannah frowned. "It isn't healthy to keep skipping breakfast."

"Yeah, Daniel" I smirked at him. "He's been sneaking donuts when you haven't been here Hannah."

"Traitor," Dad said as Hannah gave him a weird look. "So Taylor?" he said sitting down and trying to change the subject. "What have you been reading?"

"Just a few economics books. I've got a project coming up and I thought I would talk inspiration from your efforts in the docks."

Dad grinned that stupid grin of his. "So what is the project? Maybe I can help?"

"A cost effective way of teaching the poor new skills to lift themselves out of poverty. "

"Oh that it is interesting and a real problem. Getting new certifications takes time and money. Many of my guys can't afford to get the training to qualify for higher level jobs."

"Aren't there government programs for pre apprenticeships in construction from the union like what Kurt and Lacey used?" I asked.

Dad sighed. "Oh, there are, but there are far too few of them to meet the demand. If you could expand the programs that would be great, but the state would never go for it with that asshole in the governors seat."

"Okay so what skills do you think are easy to learn that would make a difference?"

"Hmmmm….saving and figuring out a good way to get loans with low interest rates," he finally said. "Most of my guys have shitty credit and can't get a good loan. If you could teach people how to save and build better credit that would help in the long run. I wish they had taught me about taxes when I was your age."

"Well you have given me plenty to research dad. I think I'm going to head to the library and get started already."

"Oh, I can drop you off Taylor!" Hannah exclaimed.

"That isn't necessary. I don't mind walking and taking the bus."

"No, I insist. I can work out later. Let me get changed."

 _Yay._

* * *

After being forced to listen to Hannah fail at making small talk and needlessly waste 15 minutes of time, I finally arrived at my new temporary lab.

The ship had been found on the cheap through a connection of Aristotle who had taken care of all the paperwork. It was some type of frigate and was officially listed to a new identity. I had originally bought it to help hide and monitor project X's growth. It's projected growth size made it too difficult to hide in the hotel. If I unleashed it at the hotel, people would easily be able to tell where the lab was.

So I decided to move project X to the bay, all the ships coming and going made it relatively easy to hide a ship with the right palms greased and Aristotle's influence. I also periodically erased the harbormasters memory after they helped handle the paperwork to keep it a secret.

I had rented a huge truck, but Project X was simply too big to move in one piece. I ended up dismembering it into pieces and keeping them alive until I could reassemble them again in my new temporary lab in the frigate, which I had named the Pomegranate. Moving some basic equipment had helped to double it as a backup lab. If my plans worked and the docks became more economically successful it could be harder to hide the unusual nature of my hotel. So having a new place as a backup just made sense.

The frigate itself was okay if a little cramped compared to the hotel, especially as I that was where I stashing the majority of my new Lusus made from the main lab. Though I had to clean it extensively as it was disgusting inside when we first got it. I didn't ask any questions to Aristotle about who owned it before me, but the smell of sweat, fish, and butterscotch was weird. I trusted Aristotle but I still went over every inch of the ship looking for bugs or cameras twice before I was satisfied.

My sidekicks and I had spent the last few days directing the Lusus to clean the place up. Rachel had been convinced to help clean as practice for a few Lusus I would give her whose only job was to clean up her dogs leavings. She wasn't very good at directing or controlling them, while Charlotte was a natural.

We had done a decent job, though the inside was a little Spartan except for the cargo hold where I put my lab equipment. The ship periodically traveled above Project X where a few spiders covered its body to perform basic maintenance and diagnostics on the connected parahuman clones and the main body.

Charlotte, Rachel, and Sierra entered my range and I found them all sitting at a small table I didn't recognize. The Lusus pretending to be the crew took up my bag as I walked up the gangplank.

-Sorry I'm a little late- I said as I took control of an assistant Lusus in the bridge where everyone was gathered. -Where did we get the new table?- I asked looking down.

-I actually bought one from IKEA and put it together myself to test the skills you shared through the implant- Charlotte said proudly. -I was going to paint it, but Rachel mentioned that her dogs don't like the smell-

-That and Bitch seems to be getting sick of the color green- Sierra said privately through our implants as I opened the door into our meeting room. My sidekicks looked a bit different now that I had finally finished all the modifications to their bodies.

Rachel had gained a foot in height and was built like an amazon, focusing on strength over everything else. Her new face had been built to look similar to her old one but a bit cuter since she said she didn't care what she looked like. Her short hair was artificial and she didn't have to cut or take care of it as much anymore based on her instructions. Her new mask was next to her and had been made to look similar to the face of one of her dogs when full transformed.

She was sitting with her feet on the table, and was petting her dogs seated next to her. Rachel's dogs, Brutus, Judas, and Angelica had been given extensive modifications and improvements themselves. They were far bigger and had a few selected genes installed after some experimentation with Rachel's power. Their implants boosted their intelligence and made them far easier to train and direct with Rachel able to now share their senses.

Charlotte was in costume again except she wasn't wearing her mask. She wore a green robe compared to Sierra's red, and her mask had a US chemical hazard symbol on it with the number 4 on every square and a crossed C on the bottom. Beyond the numerous poisons installed, she hadn't asked for anything except a standard tune up.

Sierra wore the same costume except her mask was now a living plant similar to her own instead of regular mask. Besides looking cooler, it also produced oxygen. Unlike Charlotte, she was dressed in simple street clothes. The only new modification had been her hair that was now more easy to change color and styles after she insisted that she wanted to be seen as more professional.

"Charlotte, anything happen during the nightly patrol?" I asked out loud.

"A woman walked into an alley and gave an envelope to one of the Lusus near where you made a raid last," she said getting up and handing it to me.

"What does it say?" I asked opening it up.

"She claims to be a parahuman who wants to make a deal with you if you meet with her. She'll help you take down Lung, if you promise to leave her alone and heal her family."

"Probably another trap," Bitch said gruffly. "Bakuda and a few other assholes have tried it before."

"Do you think it's a trap Charlotte?" I asked as she shared the video footage from the Lusus. The woman was of Asian descent and looked to be in her late teens. She was obviously scared as she dropped the envelope and made a declaration to it.

"I don't think it's a trap. There is no one willing to do it anymore and people realized that you could easily replace any Lusus they destroyed. I think it could be genuine."

"We haven't heard anything from Bakuda recently though," Sierra said leaning forward. "That crazy bitch isn't the type to be silent for no reason. She is probably working on something."

"There have been more bombs recently in the hands of ordinary members," I said. "But you're right that she is being unusually quiet and that makes me a little worried."

"She held a college hostage right?" Charlotte asked a little hesitant.

"She failed a course, and blew up a building to cover her escape causing a few casualties," I answered. "If she feels threatened, and I think we have definitely made the ABB feel that, she is going to escalate. I'm narrowing down their final hideouts, and her lab has to be in one of those. We'll find her and deal with her but our priority remains Lung."

"Okay, so this should be a quick meeting," I said changing the subject. I projected the slideshow of data I had made last night in the air through their implants. "Updates please. Rachel you first."

She shifted a little uncomfortably before pulling out a Clifford book and looked behind it. "2nd grade," she said.

"That's amazing progress Rachel," Charlotte said smiling. "You couldn't read at all a week ago!"

"That is excellent progress," I said. "The promised bonus will be transferred. Keep up the good work. The vitamin regime for two of your dogs has changed again, and I've updated your implant to remind you. I will make time to go visit your new site for a more in depth examination when I have time. Is this okay?"

She nodded and quickly put the book back in her bag. Then pulled out some chew toys for her dogs and dropped them on the ground.

"Charlotte?" I asked.

"I built and put the table together with no major hiccups," she said. "I also fixed the steps at my house for my mom with some spare wood we had. I don't think I'm making as much progress as Rachel but there was some definite improvement. I'm going to borrow my dad's old power tools and see if I can build something from scratch."

I smiled warmly at her. "Great. Though I think we are going to have to try a different skill for me to share since I am not that advanced with woodworking beyond the basics that my dad showed me. Have you learned anything about the clinic paperwork?"

She nodded and pulled out a handout for Sierra and I to take. "Keeping things anonymous isn't that big of deal. There are plenty of rich people that do that. The lawyers you contracted are taking care of the permits and fees for the official clinics, but the Realtor I talked with doesn't have a site yet for where you intend to put them."

I frowned a little. "Isn't property cheap? I thought it would be easy to find a cheap building? There are plenty up for sale in certain areas of the docks."

"I can answer that," Sierra said putting up a few price figures. "None of the buildings in the areas that fit our needs are willing to sell for the price range you gave me. A few property holders heard about us shopping around and are holding out for more money for some reason. We can offer more, but I really don't think those buildings are worth it. But if you want them we can up the offers."

I sighed. "I just made some deliveries to a few clients, so we have the money. Just do it. But give me a list of their names. We will see what Aristotle can find on them. How did the surgery go?" I asked.

"I think I can direct basic first aid for the spiders, but trying to direct them in surgery killed all the Lusus," she said embarrassed.

"That's okay. I have a test given for new nurses I want you to take and a few books to read before we try another set of tests." -At least I know you can handle the blood- I told her privately.

-I can handle it, that doesn't mean I like it- she answered.

I changed the display to a large map of the docks with various ABB movements and sites on it. "I combed through ABB chats last night and I've identified two more sites, for our master list. Still no sign of Lung or Bakuda but I think we are ready to make our final push. Give me a day or two to make some more Lusus and finish upgrading the server and we're ready to go with the purge."

"Why do we have to go with that plan?" Sierra said. "There is no reason to make a big and flashy attack. We're trying to keep people from comparing you to Nilbog and we have made some real progress now that the news finally reported on your cancer research. A giant attack over one night is going to bring back comparisons to Nilbog."

"So what?" Bitch spoke up. "They always will. We can beat anybody who comes to fight us."

"Its stupid and needlessly risky." Sierra shot back. "Why not take our time? A new attack on one of those sites every night, and you save Project X for Bakuda or Lung. Surgical, less scary, and the docks are still yours."

"I think we should go with Faust's plan," Charlotte said to Sierra's surprise.

"See the little one agrees with me," Rachel said.

"Why do you think that?" Sierra asked Charlotte.

"Because more people get hurt if we wait and the ABB can do a lot of damage in an extra month. If Bakuda or Lung gets desperate they may do something risky to everyone in the docks. Why do you want to do it Faust?" she asked me.

"I want to do a big attack to protect myself."

"Protect youself?" Sierra questioned disbelieving.

"People are always going to be afraid of me, and I can't change that. But I can make that an asset, and the best kind of fear is the fear of the unknown. No one is sure what I can really do, or what my true forces are. They think I'm a Trump and a Tinker, but I want people to get it in their heads that I am not an ordinary parahuman. That is why I want a massive shock and awe campaign. Something that will terrify people and if we do it right it will seem as if an army came out of nowhere."

"The heroes will mobilize to stop you," Sierra pointed out.

Bitch snorted at that.

"It doesn't matter." I said thinking it over. "All the Lusus are expendable and I can always make more. I will just destroy them when I am done with to them to show the world that they don't matter. Only when I am alone, with no army at my back do I declare the docks mine. The Empire, the Teeth, and the heroes are going to have doubts about fighting me after that. What else can I do? Can I just make a new army appear out of nowhere? That uncertainty and fear will give us some breathing room to prepare for their inevitable counterattacks."

"I'm not invincible you know. No parahuman power is perfect and everyone is going to attack us at some point because we are too big a threat. This way they are stuck calculating what else I am hiding and that will buy us time."

"The heroes also can't be in the docks all the time," Charlotte said. "They have to cover the rest of the city and even if they bring reinforcements they'll end up doing nothing if we sit back and do nothing. They're a reactionary force by their very natures. It also gives us more time to improve the docks and ruin the PRT's villain narrative of you."

"Fine, fine. I see I'm not going to change your mind and I can see the good points," Sierra said. "But we need to practice how to do it. Even if the new server increases your range we'll have to help direct them because of the sheer number right?"

I nodded. "I'll handle the bulk of control, and the Lusus are intelligent enough to take down ABB members non lethally as long as they are in the servers range. All you will have to do is control the drones, and direct them to the ABB. Have the Lusus run if confronted by the heroes, Lung, or Bakuda. Rachel or Project X will deal with Bakuda while I deal with Lung only as a last resort."

"Just use your monster to fight Lung," Rachel said. "You said the empire cunt's clones connected to it can make it invincible."

I shook my head. "I discovered that Othala's invincibility wears off faster the more damage it takes. I made it as tough as possible but Lung will still win in the long run. He has to sleep sometime and I would prefer to beat him without a fight. It would be better if he and a few ABB get away than risk him making a mess in the docks."

"What about this meeting with a parahuman tomorrow?" Charlotte asked.

"Sierra and I will check it out while you and Rachel start practicing with the training program as you don't have Sierra's experience. Any other business?"

"Oh, I brought cake." Charlotte exclaimed and running to the back. Rachel didn't move but all her dogs perked up as she went to the next room.

-I still think this a risky plan- Sierra said on our private channel.

-Noted, but I want a secure territory before everyone else starts attacking. Don't worry, we will have everything planned out and no one is expecting it-

-I trust your judgement, just be careful with that thing. I almost feel sorry for the ABB- Sierra said looking over the newest data on Project X.

* * *

It was nice driving in the docks compared to how it used to be. There wasn't a single gang member on the streets, and instead there was just regular people going about their business. Graffiti was still everywhere but my new moth model was designed to eat paint off the walls. I'd release them in mass when the docks were mine.

I studied the address for the meeting point with the drones and birds. I loved my new server and the added range of my ability to control them. I could now control a Lusus anywhere in the docks. "Find anything?" I asked Sierra sitting in a chair bolted to the floor of the vehicle.

"Nothing, looks like an ordinary apartment building. Not a gang member in site and the place is actually really nice by the dock's standards."

"There is nothing off about it. Looks like a normal family lives here but it is currently empty." I moved one of my bird avatars to the window sill exactly at the established time.

For a minute nothing happened before a familiar portal opened up in the kitchen. Boli Dun and the teen that gave the message stepped out a moment later. The teen promptly collapsed and started to shake rubbing her arms. Boli Dun quickly wrapped a blanket over her and spoke to her in accented Chinese while comforting her.

"Boli Dun?" Sierra asked sharing the bird's visual feed. "You can translate Chinese with your software right?"

"I can but it isn't perfect and she speaks a specific dialect."

Boli Dun seemed even shorter this close up. She usually leapt through a portal before I could get a Lusus near her. She wasn't wearing her mask and was dressed in normal clothes. She looked at the bird with a hard stare, and slowly helped up the teen up not once taking her eyes off of it. The teen looked at it fearfully while hiding behind her and breathing very hard. Looking up close they seemed to be related. Her daughter?

"Hello," I said through my avatar.

"Hello," the teen stuttered out nervously.

"You said you wanted to make a deal." I said looking back and forth between the two.

The teen turned to Boli Dun and started speaking to her in Chinese. The SCION helped to translate but I didn't get every word. Afterward Boli Dun started to talk quickly in return.

"My mother has stated the terms. She will help you take down Lung if you heal her family and leave us alone afterward. She knows where he is hiding."

"I accept this deal, but how do I know this isn't some kind of trap?"

The teen translated with Boli Dun, and said, "She can give you the locations of several ABB headquarters, and will give herself to you as a hostage. But she demands you heal her family first."

"Heal you from what," I asked turning the bird's head to do a simple scan.

"Bakuda put a bomb in our heads," the teen said nervously. She turned around and I saw a part of her head that had been shaved with a small scar.

-What!- Sierra sound through my implant in surprise.

"Come closer to me so I can inspect," I finally said.

The teen turned toward her mother who nodded and slowly walked forward while turning around. I scanned her head up close and indeed there was a small device on a part of her brain. An alarm and now familiar buzzing entered my ears as I began to get angry.

The SCION sent a neurotransmitter to my brain to help me calm down, and my heart rate started to slow. I waited until I was calm before I simply said, "Why did they do this?"

The teen turned back to her mother before looking straight at my bird. "Lung, mom, and Bakuda don't think of you as a hero. Lung didn't think mom would ever try contacting you and it was my idea. Regardless of what you are, you're beating Lung. More and more Shìbīng are leaving the docks or the gang. Lung was worried mom would leave, so he agreed to Bakuda's plan to start implanting soldiers. If they don't do what Lung says, he kills them and their families."

"How many are implanted?"

"My aunts, uncle, cousins, and grandparents. Fourteen of us all together."

"Are you being watched?"

"Mom can get us away without being seen, but we can't leave the docks or the bombs go off."

"Taylor, you need to calm down," Sierra said putting her hand on my shoulder. "Take deep breaths."

I initiated the mask program to help keep myself calm. "Tell your mother we have deal. Pick a place safely hidden in the docks and I will meet you all there to remove the bombs. Help me deal with Lung and take the docks, and I promise you can live peacefully. Or you can leave, whatever you prefer. I also promise that Lung and Bakuda will be dealt with. Harshly."

She turned and translated everything and Boli Dun bowed her head to me. We agreed to meet that night in a private home where I would heal everyone she brought. After her family was hidden outside of the docks, she would lead me to Lung.

I turned and programmed the truck to head home while silently making a list of the materials I would need for the surgeries.

"You do not kill, Taylor," Sierra said sternly when she saw the look in my eye. "Say it."

"I do not kill. Inform Charlotte and Rachel that we need to start preparing. I will deal with Lung tomorrow. After he is dealt with, we initiate the plan."

* * *

The darkness was crushing and I couldn't breathe. I felt as if I was being squeezed through a tube far too small for me to fit. A deep cold chilled me to my bones as I traveled through Boli Dun's portal. I wasn't sure how long I traveled but it did not feel like a second as I finally stepped out.

To my surprise I found myself in the backyard of a suburban home surrounded by a tall fence. The lawn was overgrown and an old swing set was next to a hammock. There was no moon out, but to my eyes the place was easy to see. Not a place I would have picked as a hiding place of Lung, being very plain, with an overgrown lawn. Though I suppose that was the point.

I opened up Dissonant's senses. The neighborhood was quiet, but I was on guard with no drones or birds to keep watch. Inside the house there were hardly any sound waves but I could I tell a far stronger than normal heartbeat was beating steadily asleep where a bedroom should be.

-Taylor, is it okay? No traps?- Sierra asked through the implant.

-Yes, no traps. Lung is sleeping. Don't come through. Even with your enhancements, it won't be a pleasant experience-

Behind me my spiders began to come out of the portal and take up positions around me as I quickly ran through my inventory of poisons. These particular spiders had been made to be far tougher than normal to deal with the pressure of Boli Dun's portals. On their backs were canisters of a special nerve gas I had made to disable Lung. If it didn't work I would try something a little more risky.

A moment later Sierra fell through the portal onto the ground shaking while rubbing her arms. -Wow that sucked- she said. -Fuck. I have to do that again don't I?-

-I said not to come through- I said annoyed.

-I'm doing my job and making sure you don't do something stupid- she said shakingly standing up. -I go where you go-

I shrugged but slithered toward the door with the spiders quietly moving behind us. It did not take long to pick the door, and I was thankful that Lung was too arrogant to use an alarm system. I opened the door and send the spiders in as they released the nerve gas.

I moved them slowly and silently upstairs to give enough time for the gas to spread. They pushed open the door and I scanned him to confirm unconsciousness. I immediately surged the spiders inside and they quickly began to open up his skull to implant him. When I was satisfied, I had them close him up, and sit him up against the wall.

Sierra and I entered the room and I sat on my tail studying him up close. He looked so small in nothing but his boxers. Hard to believe this was a being that once fought off Leviathan. I smiled behind my mask in triumph as the spiders woke him up still paralyzed.

That look of dawning realization as he realized what had happened was a thing of beauty. His eyes looked on in wariness at the dark shapes looking at him from across the room.

"Hello, Kenta." I said with my mother's voice. "Bet you're a little surprised to see me, but you had to know that this was coming."

His eyes focused in rage. I opened up my coat and took out a tube. "Do you see this? It's a little complicated but think of this as a special cancer I made just for you." His eyes tracked the tube as I loaded into the injector on one of my mechanical arms and placed it in front of his face.

-I thought it was the implant that made him permanently blind?- Sierra asked.

-It was but I'm hoping the PRT doesn't scan him and realize I have implants. A special cancer sounds similar to what I can do and Lung won't realize I can track him now in case he ever escapes-

"See I thought long and hard how to deal with a regenerator of you level. It will take you a few weeks but you will eventually regenerate anything I do to you. If someone gets into a fight with you in the birdcage and it goes on long enough, you could be back to normal in moments. But you see cancer cells are just normal cells that don't stop dividing. This little injection is going to cause a tumor to form on the part of the brain that controls vision."

"Take a good look, Kenta." A spider turns on the lights for me and I place my face right up to his until my mask is almost touching his face. "Because I will be the last thing you will ever see." His eyes glare with an uncompromising hatred so intense I almost feel as if he is trying to set me on fire as I inject him with a placebo and activated the implant.

I double check to make sure he won't feel any pain before my mechanical arms slowly and carefully move toward his eyes. I take my time removing his eyes and pace them into a special container as a future sample.

I wanted him to feel the same panic and helplessness that he had made Boli Dun, and everyone else he had hurt feel.

 _He tried to spit it out, but couldn't help but feel like he was swallowing more than he was removing. The weight of the woman bodyguard was on his head, holding him there, suffocating._

 _He felt the rush of it taking hold, intense and seemingly without a ceiling to top it off. His face in the dirt, in the dust, he was overwhelmed by the paradoxical sense of being like the king of the world._

 _That rush lasted too short a time. He could feel the rush building until it felt like his heart was going to burst or vibrate itself into pieces. He felt nauseous, as if he was going to throw up, but couldn't bring himself to._

 _Kenta's left arm started going numb. He knew what that meant._

 _With a cold feeling in his churning gut, he thought, I'm having a heart attack._

Lung's now empty holes opened wide in shock.

That was new.

-Taylor what the hell just happened. Your brain flared like crazy for a second- she said looking up at me.

-I saw a memory of his trigger event, and I think I just made him experience it again-

Lung spit on me and then fell back unconscious as I activated his implant.

I stand up, and viciously punch his face several times for good measure that scatters a few teeth, pissed off that he won't remember what I had done to him. It was too risky if he figured out I was a Butcher. My mechanical arms whir to life as I open him up and perform the memory procedure to erase the last hour. When I am finished, I reached down and flung Lung over my shoulder in a fireman's carry.

Sierra took his nearby mask and followed behind me with the spiders. I banged his head on the doorways and walls a few times as we headed back to the back yard. I throw him through the portal like the garbage he is and step through while gritting my teeth. I will never know how Lung got so used to using her fucking portals.

Boli Dun and her daughter looked down in shock at Lung's body as Sierra grabbed me from behind shaking. -I am never going through one of those things again- Sierra said.

"You will transport my Lusus tonight to where I tell you to. Do this and you will never hear from me again," I said to her daughter who translated for her mom.

She nodded her head just once, and we climbed in one of my trucks as we headed back to the Pomegranate from a safe house I had prepared.

-I take it the poison worked?- Charlotte asked excitedly in my head as drove closer.

-It did. Are you and Rachel ready?-

-Yeah, all the Lusus are ready to go in cargo containers like you said-

-Good that should mitigate the use of Boli Dun's portals on them-

-Taylor are you truly going to do this?- Sierra asked next to me. -The PRT is going to come down hard on you for this. You're going to terrify the world. This will be front page news.-

-I want everyone in this city to know how stupid it is to make me their enemy, and that anyone who fights us will be crippled forever even if they win. We move tonight. That's an order.-

-About fucking time- Bitch said.

-Epoch and Phoenix have both made aware of their targets and are on their way- Charlotte said.

-We've practiced this and you all know your roles. When this is over we'll celebrate at the hotel-

The truck came to a stop, and I got out as I called for an Atlas beetle to head to my location. -Sierra, tell Boli Don the places I want those containers. After the Lusus empty out, she is to transport them back to where she got them-

-Where are you going to go?-

-I'm going to test and follow Project X while controlling the majority of the Lusus. I don't think it can be killed by anyone short of Lung or Bakuda, but I want to be near it in case it somehow dies before that-

-Okay, we'll be in contact if we need your help- she said as the truck drives off.

The beetle landed in front of me, and I clambered aboard before it lifted into the air.

I spend almost an hour just enjoying the sensation of flying as I slowly head to my first chosen target. I force myself to take deep breaths and the SCION helps to calm my anxiety as I stare out at my city far below.

This is it. Finally after all my planning, everything I've learned, and all my hard work, the ABB would end tonight.

After what felt like hours, Boli Dun called my newest throwaway phone. It rang twice and then hung up.

 _Showtime._

With a thought I activated Project X.

From beneath the water the weights holding its body down were released and it slowly floated to the surface as it uncurled itself. It swam closer to shore until it rose out of the water, 30 feet tall, 40 feet long, and weighing in at 9 tons. Its enormous skull was situated on two powerful, well-built legs. Instead of arms, long and powerful tentacles ending in even more tentacles for fine handling were up and waving back and forth. The huge head was large, pointed, with huge replaceable teeth, and well-developed leg muscles.

In a specially hidden chamber just under its spine, the three Othala clones activated. Two gave themselves and by extension project X invincibility. While the third clone gave itself regeneration to keep all of they're bodies running smoothly. Thanks to the clone's nervous systems and brains being connected and combined with Project X, the effect spread over Project X's entire body.

The original plan had been to make a T-Rex from scratch as a way to showcase my power. The image would have been both threatening and impressive, but the cost had been too high. Until I got the idea to combine it with Othala clones from some of Bonesaw's disgusting past actions. Since the Othala clones could barely move, or function, I had Project X take care of those needs.

Its new job was to now to absorb whatever Bakuda could throw at it and keep any heavy firepower focused on it while the rest of the Lusus dealt with the common ranks of the ABB. I was hoping more than a few would just surrender when they got a closer look at it.

There was also a specially made chamber in its throat that would contain anyone safely inside Project X. I intended to have it swallow Bakuda. The bitch would regret getting civilians involved. I had something special planned for her that I wanted to test on a Tinker.

The drones' overhead spread out and zoomed in on the ABB warehouse I had chosen for our first target. It was the major site for the ABB's smuggling projects.

The ground trembled with its footsteps as Project X finally made its way onto land. I directed the mechanical spiders on board that had been monitoring its functions to drop down off of it.

They took up positions behind it as I turned on the cellphone jammer. I would only let cell phones I was directly monitoring work to see if one of the calls would lead me to Bakuda. While the ABB were not supposed to call her for security reasons, I had a feeling they would be calling for back up before too long.

My attention shifted to a member of the ABB wielding a sword on his back of all things, who had come out of the warehouse to see what was making the noise. He fumbled with a flashlight until it turned on and he swept out the beam over the darkness until it settled on Project X's legs. He raised it up until the light illuminated Project X's face and froze in shock. His mouth was hanging open and I had the drone take a picture for later. He eventually found his wits and screamed for help as he ran inside.

I took direct control of Project X and grabbed the side of the building and yanked out part of the wall, throwing it behind me into the water. One of my birds flew inside to a scene of chaos as the men inside scrambled for a rack of long tubes that they were loading with what looked more of Bakuda's tech.

The bird opened its mouth to screech and I used Dissonant's power to have my voice come out of it in one language after another. "I give you this one warning. Surrender. Lie down with your hands on your heads. You will not be harmed. If you refuse, you know who I am and what I will do to you.

A few of them immediately did as I told, but the man carrying the sword brought up one of the tubes and fired. A brief and strangely quiet shriek spread through the air as the rest of the wall and my bird simply melted. The empty space revealed Project X as its head leaned down to look inside.

The power of the weapon gave them courage as they grabbed more of the long metal tubes. They weren't very disciplined and I was briefly worried they would accidentally set off Bakuda's ordinance in their haste to shoot it. I froze Project X's movements and waited patiently for them to finish. They took aim and fired.

Several more massive shrieks were heard and Project X was blown onto its back and tumbled back into the water. It's head raised back up as a massive inferno lit up the sky as the air briefly caught on fire.

Even way up in the air, I could still feel the heat. Through Project X's eyes, the man with the sword fired a final bomb that created a giant hole in the sky that for a brief moment actually lifted Project X into the air as the water all around the bay began to be sucked up into it before suddenly dissipating. It fell back into the bay and created a giant splash.

The men inside whopped and hollered while I tested and ensured the Othala clones' power was still working while going over Project X's diagnostics. Satisfied it's body was intact, I had Project X slowly push itself up again out of the water and had the Othala clones reactivate their powers.

The ABB's excitement slowly died as Project X loomed out of the water and walked back toward them. The ABB looked on in disbelief as Project X stepped back into the light without any sign of damage. That moment of dawning comprehension on their faces made me grin and caused Project X to make a grin that matched my own.

 _"Cue roar."_

Project X took in a deep breath and roared as loud as it could. The ABB held their hands over their ears as an incredibly loud noise ripped out and rattled the neighborhood and set off all the car alarms all along the docks. I focused on the sound and used Dissonant's power to break it apart. The air visibly rippled to the naked eye and everyone in range instantly lost consciousness with the ABB thrown from the epicenter into the wall.

Without any input from me, the spiders behind Project X rushed forward to check over the ABB who had fallen. I looked through the spider's sensors and began to prioritize who should be implanted with my first choice being the man with the sword. He was not very intelligent, but that kind of bravery could be useful if his crimes weren't too heinous to forgive.

I gave the SCION my pass-code and fully activated my new and improved server for the first time.

"Evil Triumphs When Good Men Do Nothing."

A familiar heat began to spread throughout my body, as my full mental abilities were unlocked. My world expanded as I became aware of the 592 Lusus awaiting their orders hidden throughout the docks. For a very brief amount of time I was connected to all of them before the SCION dropped the number to a more manageable level as a safety precaution.

While it was only for a moment, I couldn't contain my awe at the sheer amount of sensory input at my fingertips. The wind brushed past my wings as I soared through the air, the strange vertigo as my eight legs clung to the building, and the smells of the fear and excitement in the air of my sensitive nose behind Rachel's dogs. I imagined Dissonant and Forearmed beside me as I sent my order to Rachel, Charlotte, and Sierra.

"Begin the Purge".

I tried and failed to contain my laughter as Project X turned to the sky and roared once again.

X

X

X

X

Come on guys. The new Jurassic Park movie came out this year, there was a reference to the original movie in Blasto's original interlude, I'm a fan of the Dresden files, and I read WAY too much fan fiction. Of course Taylor was going to make a super powered, mutant, cyborg, tentacled, T-Rex.

The next chapter or two will be the purge, while the rest of the arc will be Taylor playing Diplomat as the new law in the docks after a brief time skip of a few weeks.


	21. PHO snippet

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 **Topic: Brockton Bay hidden tourist spots  
In: Boards ****Places** **America** **Brockton Bay Discussion (Public Board)  
Bruce Lao **(Original Poster)  
Posted on May 13, 2011

Started this thread for all the new tourists coming to the docks since the city guide won't include any of the stuff Faust makes. All they show of her are the dossiers on Faust and the rest of Sleeping Forest. Since it is becoming a pain dealing with all the questions and a few people taking advantage of them with bullshit animals, here is my guide to the top wonders of the docks you have to see if you visit.

1\. Sue- The mutant T-Rex frozen in time is something everyone and their mother go to see first. A few enterprising dock residents have started selling T-shirts and other touristy crap with Sue on it. The authorities have ringed it off and you really shouldn't cross the line as birds go after you and dive bomb crap that smells really bad at you. The barrier is to keep people from sticking rocks and twigs in the time bubble. The abandoned building right next to Sue was bought and torn down by a quick-witted investor, and a small park has shown up next to Sue with a few street performers. There is a shortage of restaurants in the docks; so all the new food trucks make the park a good place for food.

Edit: Really fucking expensive food.

2\. The singing wall- An alley off of 8th street has these pretty flowers that cover a large wall. The flowers copy and remix whatever sounds they hear and sing it back in a weird but pleasant harmony. Everything from voices, cell phone ringtones, and camera shutter etc. all get sang back. Don't try to pick the flowers as they are covered with big ass bugs that jump and sting at people to defend them. But they do occasionally offer a flower to good singers. Notice I said GOOD singers. The beetles or maybe Faust is a harsh critic.

3\. The Ents- The docks resident janitors and all-purpose helpers. They're only around at night hanging out in alleyways. They used to walk around during the day but all the heroes and cops kept going after them even if they never did anything. If you whistle they'll show up to help you. No one is sure if there are new ones every day or they can just change their appearance but they look like the tree guys from the lord of the rings in miniature form. They'll walk you to your car, carry stuff for you, and even act as movers or cleaners as long as you pay them with food. They like homemade stuff, with the rumor mill saying they like fruit best. They recognize cameras and like to pose for pictures. Collect them all.

4\. The hanging gardens. Faust put up a bunch of fencing all along walls and roofs to let her plants grow along them. A variety of really bright flowers and vines that grow ridiculously fast making the docks look much greener than they used to. None of them are natural but they look pretty and have bio-luminescence at night, which is why Faust always seems to cut off the streetlights early, as they're pretty bright. Best one in my opinion is by the new tea shop off of 16th. The resident monkey species seem to be taking care of them and keeping them from growing out of control. There a few guides online but you can eat some of them as a cheap meal, and a few others are natural painkillers depending on the color.

5\. The paint moths. Basically just some big but cute looking moths that like to eat paint off of walls that color their wings. You can see small groups of them flying at night around walls and bright lights. Don't seem to be under the control of Faust as they are increasingly being seen more and more outside of the docks eating graffiti. If you want an up close look at them just spray paint a wall near the docks and a few will show up in a few hours after dark. A few enterprising drug dealers have started catching them as a by-product of them can make people really high. Seen as a bit of a status symbol by certain criminals for daring to enter the docks but consider yourself warned as knowing Faust, she'll probably poison them soon if she hasn't already.

6\. Flying Pony show- Favorite of all girls and bronies in the city. Just as the sun starts to set, several brightly coloreded horses and ponies show up in the sky to fly around and perform tricks. Supposedly you can buy one but they are supposed to be really expensive. A really rich guy in India bought one that you can actually ride for his daughter.

7\. The Kraken- This one was considered an urban legend until recently when we finally got video of it. A very large land octopus the size of a car that can camouflage itself like a chameleon and climbs along walls. Based on how slimy it looks it probably spends most of its time in the water.

8\. The sea serpents- They are basically a bunch of big ass snake things seen occasionally swimming under the water in the docks. A few people think they're the reason the water in the docks has gotten clearer and are helping the new algae to grow. They like to hang out by the algae gardens showing up in deeper water near the city and a few boats give tours if you want to see them. Warning. They like to get really close to the boats after people started feeding them bread. They only eat plants but they are much bigger than people realize.

9\. The spider mansion- A gigantic colony of spiders that has taken up residence in a abandoned warehouse near the south side of the docks. Giant and intricate webs cover the place inside and out and the colony seems to somehow attract pests like rats in huge numbers. They don't attack people but there is no way in hell I'm going there. Makes my skin crawl just thinking about it.

10\. Urban legends- Plenty of reports but no pictures or videos yet. There are always rumors in Brockton, and people love to exaggerate so it hard to tell what is real or not. There are reports of some type of slug that clean the floors and walls of the docks at night, a creature disguised as a dumpster with overgrown arms and legs, tiny little green dinosaurs that hunt and eat rats, giant bugs that mimic the vines growing everywhere, and something that look like floating jellyfish.

 **(Showing Page 9 of 9)**

 **Bruce Lao (Original Poster)  
Replied on** **May 14, 2011:**

The vendors and food trucks by Sue are good. I don't dispute that, but they charge out the ass. Come on, 3 dollars for a hot dog?

 **TrueTats  
Replied on** **May 14, 2011:**

The tiny little green dinosaurs are real, its just they're smart enough to avoid humans. They only hang out in walls and underground. But they also kill for sport, as there are plenty of uneaten rat corpses that show up in a storm drain near my apartment.

 **Mr. Boogey  
Replied on** **May 14, 2011:**  
Bruce Lao

At least there is finally more variety of food to eat nearby. It was such a pain to travel to get decent grub. I heard a rumor that there are now fruit tree versions of Ents that give out grapefruit and apples to people. I know why the heroes and non dockers freaked out about them considering the shit Faust pulled, but honestly she only targeted the ABB. The Ents run if you so much as sneeze on them.

 **G-Man  
Replied on** **May 14, 2011:**

I heard that rumor too, and it seems made up. My mom interacts with several of the Ents as at least some of them sleep in a dumpster nearby and she has never seen one with fruit growing out of them. They do love fruit though. They love the fruit salad my mom makes. They always help her with her groceries if she gives it to them. Can we please not start another thread arguing about Faust? There are plenty of other threads and this is supposed to be for helping tourists.

 **TheOtherGuy  
Replied on** **May 14, 2011:  
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Muted  
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** **Moo  
Replied on** **May 14, 2011:**

The Ents like everything. Where do you think all that garbage they pick up goes and why do they sleep in a dumpster? They have to be eating most of it.

 **G-Man  
Replied on** **May 14, 2011:**

Which is why they like homemade stuff if Faust is making them eat garbage all day.

 **Random Lurker  
Replied on** **May 14, 2011:**

Here is a quick guide for people who don't want to look in another thread about the different plants unique to the docks. They grow on the vines in big colored bulbs. You have to be quick though as the cops have been cracking down on people eating them citing health concerns. They never showed any interest in our health back when Lung was in charge, but what can you do.

Green plants that look like onion flowers in restaurants- Good for eating, and make a decent meal in a pinch. You can peel them off like chips and they remind me of some of those meal made ready stuff the new factory they're going to build in the docks is supposed to make.

Purple plants that are shaped like butterflies- good for cuts and sores. Can also be made into a tea good for the stomach. Better than store bought stuff in my opinion.

Red plants that look like sunflowers- The roots are a very strong painkiller that isn't as addictive as morphine. Though take that with a grain of salt as that is from a former addict. Know more than a few people trying to grow their own but they only grow in the docks. They grow quickly but you have to be quick as people are on the look out trying to pick these first.

Blue plants that look like weird radishes- Taste sweet like honey but are really hard to find. The monkeys seem to subsist on the vines themselves, but seem to love eating these. Between them and the damn gulls these are rare.

Yellow plants that look like a cross between grapes and melons- Great source of vitamins and for treating colds/sore throats. Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects are great if you mash them up in a paste. My mom loves them for her arthritis as its much cheaper than the meds she used to take.

Orange Plant- No idea as they have only just started showing up. Rumored to be hallucinogenic though.

 **TinDaughter  
Replied on** **May 14, 2011:  
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The PRT is still testing any long term side effects of Faust's plants and ask that people refrain from eating them.

 **Coyote-A  
Replied on** **May 14, 2011:**

Don't eat the blue ones if you get them, as your sweat smells really bad. A few people at Winslow found some untouched and started eating them as a vegan diet thing, and the locker room for gym has never smelled the same. Though the diet doesn't seem to be working, as many are still overweight.

 **Jess1190  
Replied on** **May 14, 2011:**

You can totally be fat and eat vegan. Just fry everything and drink lots of beer. Or they just haven't been on the diet long. My mother refuses to try them, but the green ones actually taste pretty good. Faust somehow gave them a meaty flavor like jerky and there are different varities of them. I think Faust made them after the city tried to shut down the homeless shelter giving out free meals, after the city passed that stupid ordinance that keeps you from feeding the homeless.

 **TweetTweet  
Replied on** **May 14, 2011:**

It is stupid, but the cops don't really enforce it. I've never seen any of them bother that volunteer group next to the new clinic.

 **Hench4Life  
Replied on** **May 14, 2011:**

That's because all of the cops who tried to stop the feeding, and the city officials who passed it all suddenly developed tape worms that made them hungry all the time.

 **Will Sing for Cheese  
Replied on** **May 14, 2011:**

Hah, serves the bastards right. Speaking of food. Can anyone recommend anything to eat in the docks besides the food trucks?

 **It was his sled  
Replied on** **May 14, 2011:**

The new teashop mentioned is nice and they make good breakfast sandwiches that are pretty cheap. They also have a little dice you can push after you buy something and give out free drinks if you get a six. Coffee is so expensive thanks to the shortage in South America and tea has really been helping me get up in the morning. You have to be quick though, as the line gets long around 8 and 4. Heard a rumor that Faust sends some of her Lusus to buy tea from the store.

 **A wild Evan appears  
Replied on** **May 14, 2011:**

For any tourists confused about directions, you can just ask the tour bus drivers. There is a bus traveling by ever ten minutes and it's free. They answer tourist questions all day and they can be commissioned for private tours. One of them picks up my son after school for daycare center and he is very nice if a little intimidating. Almost certainly a former ABB who Faust made get a job.

 **TrueTats  
Replied on** **May 14, 2011:**

The horse and pony show is boring as hell though. I wish Faust would make another dinosaur instead of something so girly. If I had the money I'd pay her to make me one.

 **Grey Ghost  
Replied on** **May 14, 2011:**

I kind of agree. The ideal would be ride able dinosaurs that you can feed out of your hands like Futurama. If it were just for me I wouldn't have her make a meat eater as feeding it would be expensive. Makes me curious what Leet is feeding his new Dodongo. I caught their new episode where Leet showed them off as hunting dogs while dressed like Link and it must cost a fortune to feed them.

 **ICUP  
Replied on** **May 14, 2011:**

The original poster failed to mention that a lot of tourists are also coming to see all the heroes patrolling here after the Purge, including some of the STARS defensive team you never get to see like Crawler. I can see why the PRT doesn't let him out too often considering how he looks. I felt bad for him because the crowd was really pissed when the horses left immediately after he showed up.

 **XxCharxX  
Replied on** **May 14, 2011:**

Screw the PRT. They didn't give a shit about the docks until Faust took it away from them and showed them what a shitty job they're doing. The heroes and the cops can try what they like and do what they like, but at the end of the day, the docks are _hers_.

 **(Showing Page 9 of 9)**

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Sorry about the lack of an updates. I keep trying to rewrite part of the purge since the original version was a tad too violent even for Taylor, and I changed the hero who we follow briefly afterward. As a apology, here is the small PHO segment I wrote that was originally tacked on to the PHO chapter. I was going to add it to the end of the Purge, but it really doesn't change too much to add it now besides spoiling what happens to Project X. Also got some feedback that I should change the description of the story to spoil cloning the butcher and being a warlord as it sound more interesting. Should hopefully be up this weekend.


	22. 4-2 (Part 1)

4-2 (Part 1)

Daichi Nakamura awoke and sighed as he heard the wail of his alarm. He silently cursed Faust and briefly considered picking up his gun and shooting the alarm clock before thinking better of it. While most of his neighbors in the apartment block were ABB, he didn't want to risk an idiot with a gun panicking. They'd all been jumpy after the footage of Faust's attack on the Teeth had hit the net.

He slowly dragged himself out of bed and headed to the bathroom. He felt depressed looking in the mirror. He looked like shit with big bags under his eyes from lack of sleep. He could have taken some pills to help him sleep but he didn't want to risk driving with them and he needed his car to make money now.

He remembered the good old days when he slept in till noon, met his usual customers at the nearby corner, made a good score, and spent all night drinking after giving his boss the gang's cut. Now he had to wake up early to drive around the city to meet the few buyers he could find. No one wanted to risk coming to the docks when there were easier and safer places to buy.

He dressed in a plain suit, put on a pair of glasses with no lenses, tucked his hair under a dirty blonde wig, and looked in the mirror. Despite how stupid it made him look, he had to admit the disguise was great. He could barely recognize himself, which should be enough to fool Faust.

He walked back to his bedroom and tucked his handgun into his hidden shoulder holster. He put his gas mask and the bags of heroin into his briefcase. With one final look in the mirror, he left looking like a normal office drone off to work. He was thankful that his friends were never up at this godforsaken hour, as they would have given him so much shit for wearing a suit.

Despite seeing it every morning, Daichi's heart still sank as he saw the car he had to drive now. He really missed his old car, but it stood out too much in this neighborhood. A few of the stupider dealers who refused to get a less noticeable vehicle had already paid the price when Faust went after them. People in the docks tended to avoid people with casts on, as they probably figured Faust was spying on them.

While he was certain Faust wouldn't look twice at him, he was still very cautious opening the doors. He ducked his head in and carefully checked under the seats for snakes or rats. Satisfied, he got into the driver's seat and left.

Driving out in the open made him a little paranoid and anxious. He felt like the birds and the pedestrians in the street were staring at him as he drove past. While Faust had yet to move openly during the day, everyone knew she was always watching.

He tried not to stare at the creepy jogger that was waiting for the light to change. At first glance she looked like a pretty and confident women just working out. The kind that would have gotten pretty lewd comments for dressing in sportswear that tight. But all the locals eventually figured out that she wasn't human because of her routine.

She always did the exact same thing every single morning. She ran the exact same route, drank water in the same exact spot and time, and you could set your watch by where she was in the morning. A few of his friends had suggested shooting it, but no one wanted Faust to get wise and try something smarter.

So they left it alone and Daichi now saw it every day. They had heard all the stories about women or men being harassed or attacked before they suddenly dropped their human face and attacked. Video of the pit fight attack had made seeing it worse, as he now knew exactly what was probably hiding behind that pretty face.

If you had told him a few months ago that he would be more relaxed in Teeth territory than the docks, he would have laughed in your face. But the sad fact was that despite all the violence from the recent gang war, he did feel safer. The Teeth had been hit hard recently by both Faust's attack, and the Empire's recent expansion into their territory. With several of their heavy hitters like Spree still healing, and the Butcher out of town they were a lot more vulnerable than they used to be.

The heroes had been focused on the escalating gang war between the Empire and the Teeth, which was now on two different fronts thanks to the Empire's gains from Coil. The rumor mill said the Butcher was about to send reinforcements into Brockton, so the heroes were trying to weaken the Teeth while they had the chance and keep the Empire from gaining strength. Between the heroes' eyes being on the gang war and Skidmark conserving his strength to protect the borders with the Empire, the independent villains were having a field day.

Daichi passed a pawnshop where Cold Storage and Mouthpiece had done another smash and grab, and they still hadn't finished cleaning the site where New Wave had captured Jaws. Jaws had been trying to stop Circus's group from ripping something off from the Teeth, and both were surprised by New Wave showing up. While Circus's group had managed to get away, Jaws wasn't fast or tough enough.

New Wave had been out in force, trying to pick up the slack with the PRT and Faust's efforts focused elsewhere. They had fought several times with a few independent villains, but had only managed to capture one. The Undersiders were still a no show, but rumors were spreading that they had taken some losses from the pit fight raid.

Daichi sighed again, thinking of the fighting to come. The Teeth had been an enemy of the ABB for years, ever since Lung took the docks from them and he knew how the Butcher thought. She was going to come back in force looking for a fight after all the damage being done to them. Even if the Butcher was wary of Faust, Brockton Bay was still the birthplace of the Teeth. She'd never abandon it.

Daichi's first few deliveries went smoothly. He rang a few doorbells, exchanged cash, and left with no one the wiser. Then he lost several hours waiting after one of his flakey buyers was late. He lost even more time trying to convince a buyer he was safe after he got spooked by Lady Photon and Lazerdream flying overhead. He had a bit of good luck scoring a new buyer whose usual Teeth dealer was still stuck in quarantine after getting hit by Faust's sickness.

Satisfied with his day's work, he went home to change before heading to a new bar near the airport to meet with his friends. They had a few beers, and traded a few rumors. Apparently Bakuda had started giving out a lot of bombs recently and was working on a secret project to deal with Faust. They spent a while guessing what it could be and watched a baseball game on the TV while keeping a close watch on the clock. They all knew without saying anything that they wanted to be home before dark.

After one more happy hour and a quick hit to calm his nerves, he headed home. He stopped at a fast food place first since there wasn't anything good in the docks. As soon as Daichi got home, he stripped off his clothes, and watched a movie feeling exhausted. He decided to go to bed early, and placed his gun next to his gasmask before falling into his bed. He didn't know it, but it would be the last peaceful sleep he would have for almost three years.

* * *

Daichi awoke groggy and hung over. He cursed as he stared at the alarm clock that said it was almost 2 in the morning. His sleep cycle was going to be fucked. He got up to piss and took a few pills for his headache. He was headed to get some water when he heard a noise.

Daichi paused wondering if he had imagined it, when he heard it again. It sounded like a small scraping sound coming from his kitchen. He held his breathe and went back to his bedroom. He picked up his gun, and made sure it was loaded. He tiptoed inside just in time to see a large shadow move across his window. A moment later, he heard a small but faint hissing sound like a gas going through a nozzle.

He immediately pulled back and put on his gasmask as he tried not to panic. It was finally happening, Faust was attacking. But it didn't make any sense. Why him? He was a nobody. He had shot a few people when he first joined, but that was years ago. He had barely done anything that would warrant Faust singling him out.

He carefully shuffled to his drapes and looked out the window and didn't see anything. Could she be attacking the apartment block? There was plenty of gang members in his building, but Lung forbid any drug labs or contraband because of the lack of secrecy. It didn't make sense for her to attack here.

His breathing sounded loud in his gasmask as he tried to think about what to do as heard the gas continue to pump. Should he just surrender to Faust? While she had done terrible things to the Teeth, they were the Teeth. No one gave a shit about those assholes. Faust usually just broke a bone or two of anyone in the docks before calling the cops. On impulse he checked his cell and confirmed that it had no bars.

This was really happening.

Daichi jumped a little when he heard a commotion in the hallway. He briefly considered ignoring it before finally psyching himself up to look through the keyhole and froze in shock.

An enormous spider that went up to at least his waist was fiddling with the door across from his. It was colored green and black, with oversized legs, and it somehow managed to open it. It disappeared and a moment later returned dragging one of his neighbors out into the hallway. He didn't know his name, but he knew he was another low-level member of the gang. He wasn't moving and the spider used its legs to twist his face up and stare at it with unblinking eyes.

Daichi stared mesmerized as one of Faust's mechanical spiders come into view. The real spider turned the man over and to Daichi's shock the mechanical one quickly cut open the back of his head. It spent a few minutes digging around before spraying something and closing him up.

It was too much for Daichi as his mind spawned awful possibilities. He unlocked his door, held up his gun, took a deep breath and yanked the door open. The spiders looked up and seemed to show something resembling surprise as the bullets hit them. He noticed absently that they tried to spread their bodies over his neighbor making it easier to shoot them.

Daichi didn't lower his gun until the spider melted into goo. He spared a single glance at his neighbor to confirm he was still breathing despite the bullet wounds. Whatever Faust wanted them for, she wanted them alive.

He reloaded and looked around but didn't see anything else. He panicked a bit when more gunfire erupted below him and shouts in fragmented Chinese and English rang out. It seemed that the gas hadn't spread fully yet.

Daichi ran to the elevator and pushed the button while keeping his gun trained up. He heard the sound of breaking glass and turned around to see three more mechanical spiders come out of his apartment and drag his neighbor inside. It sounded like all hell was breaking loose below him. Gunfire and sudden sound of more broken glass accompanied a scream. He decided to take the stairs and kicked the door open with his gun raised but didn't see any spiders.

He was careful as he went down a flight and tried not to think about someone begging in English that was suddenly silenced. Below him he could see two more of his neighbors who were clad in their underwear. One of them had a gun and he called out to them not to shoot as he came down. They froze and the guy with gun shouted a question in broken English with his gun raised.

"Who are you?"

"Your neighbor. I live in 7B," Daichi shouted down.

"Prove you aren't one of them!"

Before Daichi could answer he heard a noise behind him. He turned and for just a moment his brain shut off as he tried to process what he was seeing. A dozen spiders were swarming down the stairs in a flood of legs and one of them had tripped.

Daichi turned and ran like he had never run before. He practically flew down the stairs as his neighbors shouted and started running. He elbowed the slower one aside and jumped before he could trip him in retaliation. He heard a thud and a high-pitched scream as the man just behind him was tackled.

Daichi could hear them gaining on him and saw the man just in front of him start to pull ahead. Thinking of how the spiders acted before, he raised his gun and shot him causing him to tumble down the stairs and bang his head. He jumped over him and kept running as the spiders slowed down behind him.

He made it to the parking lot and took off his gas mask to take a quick deep breath. There was a weird smell in the air he couldn't identify. He dropped his gas mask and dashed to his car, which he started in record time. Across the parking lot he could see the spiders coming out of the door and spread out but they simply stood there not moving.

He ignored them and floored it into the street. He briefly panicked as the tires suddenly all popped and he slammed hard enough into a fence to set of his airbag. The blow dazed him and had a brief flashback to his initiation into the gang where his nose was broken. He fumbled for the door and fell over as he tried to stand. He fumbled with his gun and despite his blurry vision he could still see the spike strip he had run over.

For one agonizing moment, Daichi froze like a deer in the headlights as heard the spiders approaching. Should he even bother trying to run? He had pissed Faust off shooting those people and he knew what she did to those that pissed her off. He raised his gun and briefly contemplated shooting himself.

It was over. This was-

TRAJECTORY-AGREEMENT

 _Daichi became aware of an immense thing, so huge that he could not fully perceive it. They were like moving spheres made of mirrors that moved and crashed into each other. IT was alive. The spheres were breaking apart as they fought against each other._

 _One of the fragments flaked off and seemed to twist in midair. As it made a beeline for him, he swore he could hear the sound of faint laughter._

 _-_ the end _._

All at once Daichi felt his body go through a sudden shock like someone had thrown a bucket of ice water on him. He no longer felt dazed, but his body felt sluggish and heavy as he stood up. It was hard to describe but the nearest thing he could compare his condition to was being underwater. He could barely hear anything but his vision seemed to be better.

He was so weirded out that he didn't notice the spiders attacking him at first. He barely felt anything as they tackled him and slid off. He jerked a bit when one of them flew at his face to bite him. He flailed his sluggish arms in a panic and was shocked when the spider was pulverized as it flew back and bounced off of the asphalt.

The rest immediately retreated back from him, and he slowly rose up with his arms out in case they dove at his face again. They encircled him but kept their distance. Their creepy eyes seemed to study him as he sauntered around the car. They didn't react immediately and then they moved quickly to go around the car, like they couldn't quite see him at first. Looking down he saw that his body was now perfectly black, with no shine at all.

Daichi pictured himself in water and decided to try and swim up. He kicked of the ground and flailed his legs. There was resistance but he was surprised that it seemed to work as he slowly raised himself into the air. Daichi didn't know how to swim, but he seen videos of people swimming. He turned around to flick off the spiders before raising himself even higher.

He started to pick up speed the higher he got, but he was still moving much slower than he would have liked. He felt a mixture of excitement and fun at moving through the air. He had managed to escape Faust and he was guaranteed to move up in the gang.

He headed to the only major hideout he knew of. It was where he usually picked up his supply and there would be backup there. Lung was probably on his way right now to make Faust retreat and he'd introduce himself. He'd probably get a reward.

It dawned on him roughly thirty seconds later as he got higher and higher that Faust had not just raided his apartment building. Even with his sound being muted, he could still hear the screaming and gunfire coming from all over the docks. He drew closer to the ground and witnessed people being tackled and chased by more of Faust's freaks.

He witnessed two men taking shelter in a alley when the dumpster stood up behind them and grabbed them with it's new long and gangly arms. It raised them into the air before slamming them back down. Those that were left had surrendered laying down on their bellies with their hands on their heads as human figures walked by them.

One of them turned and began to walk looking straight up at him. It took him a minute to recognize the jogger from his morning commutes. She or it simply stood there and waved. A moment later every single one of them and even a few people on the ground got up to wave.

Daichi redoubled his effort to make it to the hideout. It was too heavily guarded for Faust to easily surprise them and the building was too big for her to gas it quickly. He tried very hard to ignore the scenes below him as got closer and closer.

Several cops were taking refugee by a crashed car with their guns pointed at a giant snake trying to get around them. The snake seemed to be reluctant to get near them and ignored the occasional bullet that hit it. But it really wanted something in that car.

A block away a few people were trying to get to the sirens and were being chased by something climbing along the walls. One of them fell, and a large tentacle seemed to materialize out of nowhere and grabbed him around the waist.

Nearing the hideout, he could see what looked riot cops coming down in well-organized blocks with shields and clubs. A well-ordered group marching down the street likes roman legionnaires. A closer look revealed them for what they were. They were built like gorillas, with swollen arms, and heads that were little more than giant mouths. Long and snake like tongues swept out to taste the air.

As one they began to beat their shields and loudly whoop, roar, and scream as several buildings emptied with people covering their faces with wet rags. They looked panicked at the advancing force. The smarter ones immediately ran as they charged while the rest fired whatever guns they had.

The bullets didn't penetrate the shields and they were struck or clubbed in their legs as they broke into the crowd causing them to break in a retreating mob. A volley of Faust's strange glue rained down among those retreating while the group gave chase.

Finally getting to the hideout, he stopped as he could see that several cars had been thrown through the tops of the building, and everyone was lying in heaps on the ground with a few spiders going over them. A massive chunk of ice had broken apart in the middle of the street and a large footprint was shown in the dust nearby.

What the hell was happening? Where was Lung? Where the fuck were the heroes?

Daichi decided to get out of the docks. He turned and headed east toward the border of the Empire's territory. There had to be heroes there. A sudden pressure wave startled him and he turned to see a huge purple and green fireball erupt into the sky.

Daichi turned and for the second time that night, he moved like he was running for his life.

Nearing the border he spotted several figures running across the rooftops. He focused his vision and was surprised to see Oboro in his black robes pumping his arms. He seemed to be trailing blood and his pursuers were trying to cut him off.

They were giant, easily the size of large vans and covered in spikes. Despite their size, they were moving shockingly fast and were capable of climbing up vertical walls and jumped as far as Oboro could.

One had mandibles like an insect that dripped some kind of green liquid onto the ground. It took a moment to shoot a green wad of something that Oboro barely dodged.

Across the building to the left of Oboro, another monster with several jutting and interwoven bones out of its skin cleared a jump and ran straight for him. Oboro charged it at full speed and struck the thing with a big kick that knocked it back but it instantly rebounded with the armor absorbing the blow. It bit his shoulder while jumping up to use its weight to bring him down.

Oboro fell onto his back and used both his legs to flip it over the side of the building. He paused putting pressure on his bleeding shoulder and panted. A whistle drew his and Daichi's attention where two more monsters were sauntering onto the edge of a taller building overlooking Oboro.

One was covered in extra legs and had two oversized arms that jutted out from it's back. The other was a veritable mountain of muscle that stood up on its hind legs. It was easily over 10 feet tall, with four arms ending in claws, and all topped with a giant wolf's head that moved with inhuman intelligence. Strapped on it's back was a thick metal cross that it shifted onto the ground. It wasn't until the ogre absently scratched the head of the monster next to it, that he recognized who it was.

Hellhound? Were those fucking things her dogs?

Hellhound stared straight at Oboro and shouted something while pointing her finger at him. All of her dog things rushed him at once. Oboro shouted a challenge but he got in only one punch before he was dog piled. He couldn't hear him scream but his mouth was open like he was as they cleanly broke his legs and arms. The one with the oversized arms picked him up and they easily cleared the jump to land next to Hellhound.

She reached down and picked him up until he was eye level with her. She took off his mask and briefly inspected his face before dropping him with a thud. She studied his mask and eventually put it in a small bag while the dog with the arms started tying him to the cross. When it was finished she hefted the cross back onto her back and walked silently toward the edge of the building looking up.

Daichi realized with dread that she was looking right at him. She raised one massive arm up and waved at him with her lips back in a snarl.

He never saw what hit him. All he remembered was an explosion and feeling cold as he slowly sank to the ground. He could see Hellhound suddenly fall off the building headed in his general direction.

As he fell, he could see more scenes of panic and fear as the ABB made their final stand. More and more spiders were dragging unconscious or struggling people from the buildings into the street. The spiders were stacking them up like firewood.

An enormous insect was chasing a car as it tried to make a break for it out of the docks. It flipped over as the bug struck the back tire out. A spider broke the door off and the people inside were dragged out kicking and screaming.

Daichi struggled to stay awake as a high-pitched wailing filled the air. His last thought before he fell unconscious was how utterly appropriate the sound was.

The Endbringer sirens had started to sound.

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So here is the first part of the new chapter. I am currently rewriting the 2nd part that will follow Vista and her reaction to the purge. I'll combine them as soon as I finish.


	23. 4-2 (Part 2)

4-2 (Part 2)

Missy Biron shifted her new laser rifle given to her from Kid Win and shrunk the space between the buildings as she crossed the street in a single step. Shadowstalker and Clockblocker stepped over right behind her. She waited patiently for Miss Militia, Flechette, and Dovetail to cross before stretching the space back. Normally Dovetail would simply fly but she had to be close for Vista's "stealth field" to work, so she compromised by just hovering over the roof.

Vista had the ability to distort space (stretching, compressing, bending, etc.) but the presence of living creatures interfered with her power. Luckily it was easy to affect the air around them since there was nothing but empty space in the sky. With some work and practiced they could travel with it looking like no one was there from the outside.

She was also trying her newest distortion trick that she got after making a maze for the inter wards competition to compete in. She noticed how sound bounced and distorted and was affecting space to try and keep any noise from getting past her bubble.

Vista was more than a little surprised to find that patrolling in the docks was actually pretty boring. She actually felt a little cheated after all that buildup and preparation from the director. Faust always had her Lusus run or self destruct if they encountered any heroes, and Armsmaster had already discerned everything he was going to from the sludge they left behind.

So they had come up with a new plan to sneak up on a Lusus and get a detailed scan on them from afar. The only issue was that Brockton Bay had no real strangers except for, sigh, Shadow Stalker.

Sophia was the only one not wearing the new protective suits to protect against chemical or biological agents. She was dressed in her normal costume, as she was the only one with a decent enough Stranger rating to get close to a Lusus and scan them with a scanner the size of a phone built by Armsmaster. The plan was for them to corral a few Lusus towards a incorporeal Sophia.

But they had been searching for hours and found nothing. Which was weird on it's own according to Miss Militia. Faust was always active in someway at night. They should have run into something by now, especially cloaked by Vista's power. Vista was starting to get claustrophobic in her suit's helmet, and she was starting to sweat.

But despite being uncomfortable, she would never remove her helmet under any under circumstance. She had shrunk it to fit exactly her size, and carefully checked it for cuts or holes like Miss Militia had shown her. Vista had a healthy respect for Faust's contagions after hearing how easily she had escaped arrest using them.

Battery and Assault were not with them after they had a very ugly and loud fight about Battery patrolling now that she was pregnant. Assault had begrudgingly accepted her patrolling since she was still early, but pointedly refused to let her near the docks no matter what she said. Battery finally relented after an unspecified promise from Assault.

Miss Militia also respected what Faust's contagions could do, and required all the Wards to visit the quarantine camp set up outside of town to make sure they took suit security seriously. Vista shuddered remembering that madhouse. The vomiting, the explosive diarrhea, patients having to be tied down because of the hallucinations, several going through withdrawal had been so bad she almost felt sorry for the Teeth. Panacea had confirmed that it wasn't contagious, and should wear off naturally in a few weeks, but admitted that Faust could have infected one or two with something different as a trap after the Director asked her. She only checked on a few of them and pointedly refused to heal any of them due to the Teeth kidnapping one of her family in the past.

They took a small break around two am to double check their patrol route. Satisfied that Vista's shaping was still keeping them hidden, Miss Militia decided to make one final pass by the waterfront before sending the wards home.

Vista got back to work making a path and assisted Miss Militia and Flechette by covering the front with her rifle while they covered the back and side. Dovetail hovered in the air keeping a look out, as her costume was not practical to walk in. Her latest branding meeting had changed her costume to be a flowing evening dress to help her stand out.

Vista doubled checked the readouts on her rifle as they walked. She had taken the basic gun safety from Miss Militia had given her seriously after she argued on her behalf to be allowed to carry one of Kid Win's lasers. The director had pushed back about sending the wrong image, but she relented when Miss Militia convinced her that she could be an asset in patrolling the docks.

"Aren't you taking this a little too seriously, midget?" Sophia said through the radio. She was currently hidden ahead of them somewhere after changing position again.

Missy felt her blood start to boil at the midget comment and she was about to say something, before Miss Militia cut her off over the radio. "Cut the chatter as we don't know if anyone is listening. Shadow Stalker, Armsmaster has already warned you about making discouraging comments to your teammates. Do it again and you will be back on console duty, I don't care what the director said."

"Hey she didn't mean anything by it," Dennis said turning around to face her. "Besides Dragon herself encrypted their communications after Armsmaster asked her to. Even if she could, Faust never does anything to civilians. We should be dealing with the Empire or the Teeth. "

"Clockblocker, regardless of you opinions on Faust or Shadow Stalker, this is a stealth mission. Focus on your own role and maintain radio silence. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal, ma'am" he said while mock saluting. "But just in case you're listening Faust, " Dennis took a deep breathe and blew a large raspberry.

Vista tried not to groan, as Miss Militia was not going to let that slide when they got back to base. Sophia laughed a bit before she caught herself and Dennis walked a bit ahead of them.

After Sophia's incident at her school, she had been stuck on console duty and forced to see a therapist. However her behavior had been deteriorating lately despite that, and Piggot finally relented to her patrolling after her behavior started to get erratic enough that her therapist was worried about her having an episode or running away. What was left unsaid was that it would also give him an excuse to get the Youth Guard involved. Vista wasn't sure why, but Sophia's new therapist really did not like the director and wanted the Youth Guard involved in her case.

So the director and Armsmaster finally relented, but there was the issue of Sophia being Sophia. She did not get along with anyone except for Dennis and he tended to be more of an asshole when she was around. He was a little bit better now that they weren't dating anymore, but that could change in the future. Vista was not the only one to notice how Sophia kept finding excuses to get closer to him.

She suspected the only reason they started to date in the first place was their shared distrust with the PRT. Dennis's mom died in bloody Tuesday and he had long argued about how ineffective the Protectorate actually was and Sophia's past as a vigilante made her views on the Protectorate self-explanatory. The fact that both of them were fans of Faust and liked to be pains in the ass didn't endear them to the director.

Everyone knew Sophia was gone once she turned 18, but Dennis was well liked and fit in more than he wanted to admit. That was the main reason Miss Militia tended to cut him some slack, as she wanted him to stay with them after he turned 18. Well that, and she had made an extra effort recently to try and connect with the wards for some reason.

"Vista?" Dennis said privately to Vista's surprise. They were supposed to be unable to have private conversations in the suits. He was purposely looking away from her though to not draw suspicion.

"Kid Win gave you private access didn't he?" she asked.

"Maybe."

Vista could picture his face making that same stupid grin.

"He owed me a favor for taking a few of his duties. He has really been working hard on something in secret and I wanted to give him some extra time."

"What do you need Clockblocker," Vista said all business to make her feelings clear.

"Look Vista, Shadow Stalker really didn't mean anything by it. I know she can be hard to deal with, but she doesn't want to jeopardize being back out in the field. I promise to talk to her to try and cut that shit out, okay?"

Vista sighed. "Fine, but I'm not sure what you hope to get out of it. She doesn't want to change, and even if she did, it won't happen. She doesn't have it in her."

"Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change."

"You get that from a cereal box?"

"Frankenstein actually. I read it for a laugh as my book report, but the movies lied to me about what its themes are actually about. Faust seems like the kind of person who likes it though. We cool high tyrant of the munchkins?"

"We're cool crater face."

"Shrimp"

"Fire crotch"

"Midget". Vista laughed despite herself. It was hard to stay mad at Dennis. "You know Miss Militia is going to give you so much shit for that raspberry right?"

"It was worth it. Besides she'll go easy on me. She's been pretty mellow recently."

"Battery said she has a new boyfriend."

"Oh, do tell. I need details here."

Vista was about to spread the gossip she picked up when Shadow Stalker spoke up.

"Did you guys feel that?" she asked.

"Do you hear something?" Miss Militia asked raising her gun up. A rifle of some kind appeared in her hands as she scanned the horizons. "What did it sound like?"

"It wasn't a sound. More like a small rumbling in the ground. There it is again," Sophia said cautiously.

Vista doubled checked to make sure they were hidden and scanned the area but didn't find anything. A shadow appeared on rooftop a block away and she twisted the air to magnify to show Shadow Stalker leaving her Shadow form. She had taken off her bow and notched an arrow.

"I'm feeling them now too," Flechette said. "There's a steady series of small rumbles at regular intervals." She doubled checked to make sure her crossbow was loaded and checked on her sword.

That was when they heard something let out a massive roar. Vista and the others whipped their heads toward the direction of the water as the blare of multiple car alarms polluted the night. Lights turned on in several buildings and the few cars in the streets stopped dead.

"The fuck was that?" Clockblocker said.

"Vista make a path for us toward the noise while I report this," Miss Militia ordered.

Vista complied and they doubled timed it, all thoughts of stealth thrown out the window. As they got closer another roar erupted into the night that sounded much closer and sent a small chill down Missy's spine. What the hell was making that noise?

Several streetlights and the lights on a few buildings suddenly turned off, plunging parts of the docks into darkness. Vista brought her rifle up as she could now feel the rumbling coming closer. A huge shadow with twisting shadows came around a nearby building and Vista froze at the large red eyes that glowed in the dark. Dovetail shot up and began to drop her small forcefields behind her that lit up the street and enveloped the shadow to reveal it.

"No fucking way," Clockblocker said with shock as Shadowstalker pulled out the scanner and held it up to it.

It was easily three stories tall on two muscular legs and a long tail that swiped back and forth. It had huge and jutting jaws that opened up into rows of jagged teeth. Long whip like tentacles snapped back and forth, and its tail broke a window as it moved with slow precision down the street to avoid stepping on something.

The few cars on the street were turning and driving in the opposite direction as soon as the beast appeared in their headlights. It wasn't moving that fast, but it's stride was so large it quickly covered half the distance down the street.

Miss Militia turned and opened fire on the dinosaur thing but it did little good. In fact it seemed to not even be aware it was being attacked until she switched to a missile launcher that caused it to stumble as its head was struck.

It looked just once at us before turning it's back to us and focused on a car coming out of a parking garage. It grabbed it in its jaws, and ripped the top open. The tentacles easily pried the freaking out passengers and dropped them on the ground. It promptly ignored them as it stepped over their bodies and headed further into the docks.

Vista jumped in spite of herself at the sound of gunfire and a scream came out of a building right next to them. Miss Militia broke their shock by swiftly giving them orders. "Dovetail follow that thing and try to keep it contained until we get reinforcements here. The rest of you are with me. Vista, make us a path to that building and Flechette keep watch over our six. There is more going on."

Vista carefully compressed the space and enlarged the window. Miss Militia ran inside the enlarged window and opened fire down the hallway at something.

Clockblocker got Kid Win on the line with the rest of us connected.

"Kid what the fuck is happening?"

"There is some kind of major situation in the docks," Kid Win said sounding rushed.

"No shit, we just saw a fucking tentacle dinosaur shrug off a missile," Sophia said as Flechette yelled a warning.

Vista looked up at a giant spider crawling down up the building. It smashed a window with it's leg and dropped something from it's mouth inside as people started to yell more and more.

Vista aimed up but Flechette was faster. The arrow went through it to embed in the building itself and pinned it to the wall. It hung there for a second before it started to melt and the remains fell back to the street with a splat.

"Kid talk fucking fast," Clockblocker said.

"There have been several hundred aborted 911 calls in the last few minutes. But people are posting videos and messages about all kinds of stuff from giant spiders to the blob attacking people. There is also mention of some kind of gas being used on people. The director is freaking out and she is arguing for reinforcements right now. Armsmaster and the others are on their way. "

Vista spied another spider chasing someone and brought up a wall to cut it off. It jumped over the wall but Flechette and Shadow Stalker both fired and hit it. "How widespread is this," Flechette said taking a deep breath.

"The calls are coming from the entire docks."

Vista paused as she became aware of new sounds of panicked cries and gunfire drifting in over the wind. Miss Militia exited the building and started firing several floating flares into the sky for light. Vista gasped as the light revealed a long line of spiders running down the street. Several ran for cover once they were in the light but one went into a window.

Without missing a beat, Miss Militia opened fire and struck several of the spiders with well-placed shots. The rest immediately began to jump and dodge around as they retreated. Vista, Flechette, and Shadow Stalker lent their fire while Vista made a path to the building being invaded for Clockblocker who ran full tilt right into the building.

Vista focused on the ground and raised it over into oval that covered a few people-taking refugee. The spiders still tried to jump before they were enclosed but their attacks caused them to retreat and take refuge under a car after hitting one of them. They started to prying the doors off of cars and raising them up as primitive shields. Flechette and Shadow Stalker's arrows easily went through them and the spiders retreated.

Vista remembered her basic first aid training and pulled out the bag that contained the compressed medical supplies. She was about to lower herself to the ground when a loud scream filled the air. She looked up and saw a huge beetle catch someone who had jumped out of a window. It took off back into the air and carried him off.

"Clockblocker what's the situation? Are you safe?" Miss Militia asked as Vista made a space for her to enter the building.

"I froze a spider but another took off dragging some kind of canister of gas as soon as it spotted me," he stammered. "There are a bunch of unconscious people in some rooms and floor while others are untouched and scared. A bunch of civvies are asking me for help and are panicked. It looks like Faust is going to push the ABB out. What do you want me to do?"

"The situation has changed. Flechette, Shadow Stalker you are to support Clockblocker and try to keep this street clear. There are reports that Faust's Lusus are avoiding cops and heroes. Break the Lusus up and protect any civilians until backup gets here."

"What do you want me to do," Vista asked as Shadow Stalker ran off with Flechette behind her.

"You're going to help me follow that big one as it knocked Adamant, Velocity, and Chariot out with its roar. I need you to help keep it silent and contain the explosion when I bring out something more powerful to stop it."

Vista nodded and they were off on their way up and over rooftops. She spotted more people being attacked and they occasionally stopped for Vista to set up walls and barriers while Miss Militia fired on them to break them up. But their efforts were futile compared to the sheer chaos and panic everywhere. Vista could see Dauntless streaking overhead as he headed toward something.

Miss Militia suddenly stopped and started arguing with someone over the radio. Vista couldn't access her radio but she could move the air just right to make sound carry better. "That is not a good idea. You're just going to spread more fear and panic. She seems to be just focusing on the ABB, and no one else. If you escalate, she will as well. What does Armsmaster think?"

Vista left her after hearing a stampede of people running. She went to the side of the building and looked down at a entire crowd of people running away from a spreading green gas. Vista focused her power and moved to contain the gas but was surprised as crows began to drop onto the crowd.

As they dropped Vista saw a solitary figure in green walking among the downed bodies. She wasn't that tall and Vista saw that she wasn't like the rest of Faust's Lusus. For one she was wearing a mask that looked like an oversized US chemical warning system symbol. For another she seemed more human somehow despite doing nothing but standing. The masked figure broke out into a run as Vista raised her rifle at her but Vista stopped when a loud buzzing could be heard.

Another big beetle was flying overhead and dropped a canister that erupted into more of that green gas that enveloped the street and hid it from view. Miss Militia finally stopped talking and pulled out her phone. She quickly texted someone before she came to the edge of the building with her.

"Who was that?" Vista asked.

"The director. She is about to set off the Endbringer sirens and I was arguing against it."

"Is that a good idea?" Vista asked thinking about what would happen.

"I don't know. It could cause Faust to do something stupid and the panic in the docks will be nothing compared to what the city will go through if they get set off," she said closing it. "But if I'm wrong and the city is in danger we need reinforcements."

"Are reinforcements on the way?"

"Everything we have is in the docks or on their way to the docks. Armsmaster is working on a wide scale nanotech screen to protect people from bioweapon with Dragon in case Faust sets something off. She has never killed but she has come damn close before and I don't trust her. If we set off the sirens I'm not sure how fast reinforcements will actually get here. Most people are used to having a warning and time to gather to fight the Endbringers."

Another loud roar caused them both to look in the other direction and they set off without a word. Vista tried to ignore the sound and sights around them as they had a mission. Eventually they came upon the Beast being fired upon from people in a large building that had ABB markings.

It lined up and charged the building with its head down to use a battering ram as people kept firing from the windows. It shook the building as it made a large hole and backed up as something struck it. Ice started to spread that started to cover it's mouth and head. It picked up a car and started banging it against the ice break it apart.

Miss Militia's power formed the shape of an unusually large rocket at the end of launcher that Vista didn't recognize. "Vista, I'm going to fire something big. Keep the explosion and pressure wave shooting up. Can you do that?

"Yes," she answered focusing on the space around it.

"Vista, keep your mouth open and look away just in case", she ordered as she fired it. Vista focused on the space around it and funneled the space around so it shot upwards as the bomb hit it. There was a blinding flash but Vista managed to keep the noise and pressure wave contained.

When the smoke cleared Vista stared in shock, as the thing was still moving. Its head was down and it was breathing heavily like it was hyperventilating. Miss Militia made something new but waited as it stopped moving as people in the building cheered. Vista slowly started to relax and Miss Militia's power changed back into a knife to make a report.

That was when the Endbringer sirens started to blare.

Despite knowing it was for Faust, Vista still struggled not to panic at the sound. The Endbringer sirens usually meant destruction and death on a mass scale. Even if a city survived the attack, it would never be the same.

The sirens caused the Beast to suddenly jump up which shocked Miss Militia. Before they could react, it was already running for the building. It stuck its head in the hole let out a roar that shook the building. Afterward it paused to look up the air.

After a moment it suddenly turned to run and they gave chase. Though Vista's wasn't sure what else they could throw at it. It was far more difficult to follow it as it moved like they were chasing it.

It eventually stopped in front of a non descript condemned building that looked like it used to be a factory of some kind. The Beast was strangely cautious as it approached the building, keeping a healthy distance. Several men walked out with their hands up towards it, and Vista twisted space to zoom in on them. They were dressed in ordinary clothes and didn't look like an ABB.

Vista yelled as their heads suddenly exploded. Vista felt sick as their bodies fell down and Miss Militia held her tight. Vista hugged her tight as she became aware of a new sound just below the whine of the Endbringer sirens. It was if Lusus all over the docks were screaming in agitation and anger. The Beast stood unmoving and stared at the bodies.

A moment later the building exploded with an incredible noise and pressure wave that shattered windows. The fireball seemed to twist back and forth several times as it rose into the air changing colors.

"Good job on containing the blast Vista," Miss Militia said letting go of her.

"It wasn't me."

The smoke from the strangely subdued fire was changing colors from the wreckage of the building and for just moment Vista thought she saw two figures on a nearby rooftop. One wore a colored and grinning demon mask, and the other had been holding a large rifle and was dressed in purple power armor.

She shook her head wondering why she was looking at an empty roof as the Beast took off again with them in pursuit.

Vista was not sure of the route they were taking before she noticed a large jeep that was speeding down the docks. The Beast ran around a corner and the jeep just barely avoiding it as it fired something to knock it back.

Looking closer Vista could see Bakuda was standing on top of the jeep with a large grenade launcher and covered in various tinker made bombs. She was firing more of her weird explosives but they were only slowing it down and not doing any lasting damage.

It opened its mouth but instead of roaring, a now familiar laugh began to come out of it. A loud buzzing caused Missy to look up to see two large bugs coming down out of the air at the jeep. They were shaped like a cross between dragonflies and overgrown hornets, with compound eyes and oversized backsides.

They spread out and one of them dive bombed the jeep. Bakuda fired something that lit the sky up with a strange light and it fell out of the air looking like it was now made of glass. But it still managed to fall onto the jeep and shatter into pieces. The glass shards cut Bakuda's driver and her as the second one dived bombed the jeep before she could reload.

It fired a long strand of something from behind it that hooked onto the driver. It flew up and pulled the driver out, flying off with his flailing form the air. The jeep veered into the building with a bang of an explosion of something enveloped Bakuda.

It reminded Vista of the containment foam the PRT used except being in a different color. Bakuda pushed herself out a moment later, took off her mask, and heaved all over the ground. She looked dazed and froze as the Beast sauntered out at the other end of the street. It paused looking straight at her, neither of them moving.

Bakuda reacted first as she scrambled for something in her over turned Jeep as it thundered down the street running full tilt with it's tentacles reaching out for her.

Vista raised a wall between them but it went through it barely slowing down as Bakuda threw her launcher to the side in anger. The thing's mouth was open wide showing off its giant teeth and Bakuda threw it with all her might just as it was about to bite her.

But there was no bang or explosion. Much to Vista's surprise the dinosaur was untouched but frozen in mid leap, trapped in some kind of bubble of distorted air like Clockblocker had touched it. One of Bakuda's hands was trapped in the bubble as she frantically looked for something in a pouch on her belt as the Endbringer sirens abruptly shut off.

Miss Militia was angrily gesturing with her arms to someone on the radio as a crowd of Faust's Lusus started to gather in the street. They seemed to just materialize from the darkness with only one or two at first. But then suddenly there were dozens of them filling the street. They ranged from mundane animal looking ones to stranger and more disturbing shapes.

Miss Militia stopped arguing as the Lusus began to yell and howl. They beat the ground, overturned a car, and the noise just got louder and louder. Overhead, birds began to twist in the air until there was just a black cloud of flapping wings with their cries joining in. The cacophony of noise from the Lusus grew even larger and somehow started to spread out from all over the docks.

Then it all stopped.

A complete and total silence descended that was eerie compared to the noise that it had replaced. Vista could see a few people watching from the windows of the buildings or peeking from behind curtains as a new sound started to spread. A moment later Vista recognized them as footsteps.

The Lusus rippled and shifted as one, moving past each other like well-choreographed dancers. They picked up and dragged rubble, moved unconscious bodies to the side, and made a path that led straight to Bakuda. The sound of footsteps grew louder and Bakuda frantically tried to reach something behind her with her arm trapped.

The woman of the hour finally appeared coming down the street at a leisurely pace, and Vista got her first up close and personal look at Faust. She twisted the air in front of her to zoom into and get a better view with her rifle up.

Faust was dressed differently than she was at the pit fight. She only had two arms instead of four, and was walking on two legs instead of using a snake tail. Her green coat was fancier and didn't look like a lab coat anymore, but more like a long overcoat or duster. She had six oversized mechanical arms ending in tools jutting out of her back and hanging over her shoulders. They were colored black and they twisted back and forth as she moved.

Despite the palpable fear and panic in the street, she moved like she was walking on a regular errand without a care in the world. Her long black hair flowed freely behind her as the Lusus began to kneel or bow as she passed. Faust paid no attention to them and stopped as Bakuda came into her sight.

Her famous mask started to twist into a new shape that seemed familiar but Vista couldn't quite tell from where. It started out looking like a curved and delicate body shape that was similar to the wing of a swan, before the wing turned into a mini sculpture of tiny grasping hands that shifted as she came walked agonizingly slowly to Bakuda.

A large three eyed crow landed on her shoulder as Faust continued to walk. The bird whispered in her ear and Faust nodded.

"Don't take another fucking step," Bakuda called out in her mechanical voice from her mask. "I push this button and"

"Or the bombs in your hostage's heads explode?" Faust's voice somehow said from Bakuda's mouth and all around her much to Bakuda's surprise. Faust's voice reminded Vista of a teasing young teacher reprimanding a student.

Faust walked forward until she was just in front of Bakuda and her mask changed again until it looked like a feminine face with Asian features, which caused Bakuda to react in shock and she tried to say something. But all that came out was the same voice that simply whispered a gentle "shhh". Bakuda stayed still as Faust reached out to examine her trapped arm.

"Hello, Kimiko. Or do you mind if I call you Kimmie?" Faust said in a gentle but slightly mocking tone. Faust's voice was now somehow coming from multiple sources around her that Vista couldn't see.

One of the mechanical arms behind Faust moved forward and Bakuda slapped it away. She struggled and fought as two more held her still with a third pushing against her neck. Bakuda shivered and but she remained silent as she was injected with something. Faust carefully separated her trapped arm from her hand slowly and meticulous care. The appendage with the blade began to glow red and the stump was burned with the flat end. Despite the burning flesh Bakuda said nothing looking down away from Faust as she finished fixing and wrapping her arm with something she poured from a vial.

Faust lightly brushed the hair away from Bakuda's mask in an almost motherly manner before Faust suddenly and violently shook her head looking down. For just a moment it looked like she was having a seizure. When her head came up, the face on her mask had morphed into a frozen scream and her stance suggested anger. Bakuda visibly began to tremble.

Vista began to feel the tension in the air rise as she debated trying to save her.

Miss Militia morphed her gun into a sniper rifle and screamed into the radio. "I will not stand fucking by and watch her torture someone else," She began to angrily shout to someone on her radio.

Faust easily lifted Bakuda up into the air with her hands until Bakuda's masked face was placed right in front of hers. "Who do you think you are talking to Kimiko?"

"Nothing happens in the docks without my knowing. NOTHING," she suddenly screamed in Bakuda's face and Vista shook in spite of herself as the voice seemed to come from next to her. "Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way Kimiko. Where are the detonators?" she asked.

"They're in my toe rings," came a human voice. "Please,".

Faust seemed stunned for a moment before she threw back her head and started to laugh her head off. She dropped Bakuda on the ground and just started to howl as if Bakuda had told the funniest joke she had ever heard. The Lusus began making noise as they took up her laughter in their own bizarre ways.

"Please?" Faust said still laughing as she looked down at Bakuda. "You have the nerve to ask for mercy after what you just tried to do and have done? I know you tried to detonate a few fail-safes that would have killed a few hostages and you already murdered several people tonight. Oh, Kimiko you can't imagine how glad I am that you did that. I had something special I planned just for you but thought it went just a little too far after some thought. But I don't have those doubts anymore. Thank you for trying to kill several more people in front of me. Thanks to that I have no more thoughts of mercy."

Two Lusus with overgrown and long arms came from the crowd and hauled a struggling Bakuda off of her feet. One wrapped their arms around her neck and waist in a chokehold and the other held her arms behind her back as she tried to escape.

Faust removed a glass vial from her coat as her mechanical arms began to twitch in anticipation. "Now don't worry, Kimmie. This won't hurt a bit," Faust said as she moved closer.

Miss Militia had enough and her shot went out. One moment Faust's head was there and the next it was gone as she slumped over onto the ground and the bird flew off. Bakuda renewed her struggles but the other Lusus didn't react or move. Vista held her breath as the headless body promptly started to climb up with the mechanical arms helping to stand the headless body up.

The bird landed and spread its wings where the head should have been, and looked up at us. The body suggested annoyance but before Faust could do anything lasers flashed out in a barrage in the middle of the street and the loud roar of an engine caused Vista to look up.

A dragon suit with over sized boosters came streaking in, followed closely by a flash of light that revealed Legend in his famous body suit. Armsmaster jumped down from the Suit in his new power armor. The silver clouds of Nano machines were spreading out from the vents on his suit to help combat any gas or poison in the air as he took up position in the center.

Behind them came the rest of the Brockton Bay Protectorate. Dovetail hovered in the air, Assault stood poised to charge next to Adamant who was wearing a larger than normal armor, Bastion's shields covered a group of EMTs as they checked on several downed people, even Clockblocker and the other Wards was standing with the others.

"Late trying to help people as usual. Does the PRT intentionally design your patrols to make it less likely for you to encounter trouble?" Faust's bird said quizzically.

"Faust, you are ordered to stand down and surrender," Armsmaster said unfurling a new over sized Halberd.

"I have only attacked the ABB tonight and not a single other person has been hurt that is not fixable. In fact I have already started to fix any and all of their injuries. I only acted because Bakuda," she gestured to her on the ground, "here started to place bombs in the heads of several people in the docks."

"Lung, and the rest of the ABB parahumans are waiting for you next to Bakuda's destroyed lab. Is it my fault that your director is so paranoid and trigger happy about me that she stupidly set the sirens off? Shouldn't you be dealing with all the panicked crowds she set off? Her stupid actions caused more damage then I did. I would have warned you what I was going to do except for the fact that you declared me a villain and wouldn't talk to me."

"I believe that your heart is in the right place and you are not a true villain," Legend admitted coming closer to the ground. "But can you honestly say terrorizing the city and doing all of this was the right move?" he said sweeping his arm out to the docks and to a few people watching from windows. "I know you are more intelligent than that. You have helped many people in this city, but the violent solution doesn't always work. I was a vigilante once too, and only by working with the government and only holding ourselves to higher standards was I truly able to start making a difference. Stand down and come with us. I promise you will be treated fairly. Be the hero I know you can be and truly help your city with us."

Faust stood there saying nothing as if thinking it over with everyone seeming to hold their breath. As the silence grew, Vista became aware of new sounds. The wind blowing, people taking pictures or videos from their windows, and the distant whimpers of people in pain. The Lusus stood completely still like they were statues. Bakuda was clutching her arm not daring to move, looking back and forth between Faust's avatar and Legend. Finally the bird spoke a single word.

"No," a whisper rang out, echoing across the docks.

"You, the Protectorate and the PRT had decades and my home isn't any better, isn't any safer. You don't live here Legend, but I grew up here-I grew up watching everything fall apart. You didn't see the day the Empire 88 got it's name, you haven't seen us afraid to ride the bus at night, people not bothering to call the cops because they learned that they won't help or protect them, that they only bring more trouble. While you were failing to stop the Butcher during bloody Tuesday I was in the grime and the blood of all those that died that day."

"So what has fucking changed Legend? The city got worse, not better under your system. You talk about doing the right thing but The Butcher and the Teeth are stronger than ever; people are kidnapped with impunity, the Empire all but owns part of the city, and nothing. ever. fucking. changed. You think I am escalating things? They enslaved, raped, murdered, and spread hate, fear, and misery in my home. Fuck them and fuck your system that enables them. Our world grows darker Legend. I've run the numbers on the Endbringers the same as the PRT and we only have a few more decades. We are running out of time for your high ideals to start working, and I'm done playing nice. I'm choosing to be effective instead."

"Lung, Bakuda, and other pieces of shit like them don't deserve your sympathy. But if you want her you can have her." Faust's body went up to Bakuda, casually picked her up, and in one big motion threw her over to him. She bounced once and skidded in front of him.

"Don't get me wrong, I truly appreciate all you and the other heroes are trying to do," the bird said looking up. "But the docks and the city don't have the time to wait for you to save them. I am going to change this city for the better, with or without you. Help me or get out of my way," she said snapping her fingers.

All at once the Lusus began to melt like they were made of wax as they violently spasmed. The ground become awash with their puddles of green ooze that caused the heroes to step back. Legend tried to say something as Faust started to speak, but Faust's voice came from his mouth, to his surprise, as well as blaring from the Endbringer sirens.

"To the citizens of Brockton Bay and especially the docks, I apologize for scaring you. That was never my intention. Every single Lusus that I used tonight was just destroyed. No matter what you hear, I am not your enemy. If you ever need help you merely need to seek me out in the docks and I will find you. I will never kill, I will never harm an innocent, and I will do everything in my power to improve the well-being, happiness, and safety of everyone in this city. I swear this on my current and future lives."

"This message is for the now former members of the Asian Bad Boys. Many of you have noticed that I have started healing your old injuries. That is because as of this moment, you all work for me now. You will do what I tell you, when I tell you, and how I tell you. If you don't obey, I will punish you. But it won't be as awful as you are probably picturing. You will find that I am a far fairer boss than your old one, and I promise to reward you far more for your hard work. You first task is to simply clean up my territory. Your paralysis will wear off momentarily. You are to spend the next week cleaning the docks while I call you all up and review your past actions. If you pass I won't bother you. If you fail I expect you to turn yourself into the police. If you decide to run without turning yourself in, I will place a bounty for you to be returned alive to me and you will not like what I do to you as punishment. You're welcome to run if you think you can get away, but I suggest being out of the city by sunrise considering some of the people I have contracted to hunt you down won't be as nice as I am. But if you work to my satisfaction, your first paycheck will be at the end of next week."

"To all those that dispute my claim over the docks; consider this your only warning. This place is MINE. I don't care about your stupid prejudices, your flawed visions of the future, or your weak little god that encourages you to act like the rabid animals you think we all are."

Faust's "face" suddenly turned to face the heroes. "I care even less about the Protectorate and their ineffectual failure of a system full of child soldiers and corruption that exacerbates the problems they claim to be solving. They had decades but failed to help the residents of the docks deal with the crime, poverty, and infrastructure issues they suffer from. Since they won't help them, these people and this territory are now under my protection."

"So make your shitty little plans, tell whatever lies about me you want, and bring whomever you want to challenge me. None of it will matter. I haven't even started yet," Faust said as her body and the bird suddenly erupted in green colored flames. "I'll be watching Brockton Bay."

Vista jumped as the Endbringer sirens began to blare again. Vista spent the rest of night trying to help deal with the panic the sirens had caused. Despite authorities turning them off and issuing it as a false alarm, many still thought the Simurgh was in the city and were desperately trying to escape. Except ironically the docks, which were very quiet.

* * *

Across the city and beyond, plans began to change. New alliances were made, diplomats were dispatched, politicians were briefed, maps were recolored, and forces were re-positioned.

A new and powerful player had officially entered the game.

* * *

 **Faust** , Real Name Unknown  
Classification: Tinker 9 (Master 10, Trump 6, Brute 6, and a 3 in every other category)  
Deposition: Villain (E)  
Last Known Location: Brockton Bay (Docks area, East)

Warlord of the docks since the Brockton Bay incident. Considered the greatest wet tinker in the world with a specialty in cloning and modifying biological systems. Produces a wide variety of capable and controlled biological life forms incapable of reproduction. Leader and creator of the organization Sleeping Forest, a radical vigilante group that claim the PRT's methods and actions are a failure that cause most of the problems they are trying to solve, and argue for tougher measures against villains that cross the line. Criminal history includes mass damage to persons, attempted murder, using biological weapons against civilians, resisting arrest, inciting a riot, and kidnapping. The local PRT director has argued for permanent STARS team deployment in response to the Brockton Bay incident. Known enemies include the Teeth, The Empire 88, and The Undersiders.

Note: High risk of Class-S classification. Should creations self-propagate kill orders are pre-authorized.

* * *

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Sorry for the delay. Got caught up with a new fanfic idea crossover between Durarara, Dice the cube that changes everything, and The Gamer that I was working on. So she is finally a warlord, and the rest of the story can start.


	24. 4-3

4-3

My internal alarm went off and my eyes popped open. I stretched my arms out and yawned as I checked for any new messages. I got in rather late at 3:30, so I doubted anything would have happened in the docks in the last few hours but I couldn't quite relax until I checked on Sierra's latest hourly updates on Panacea.

Panacea should still be sleeping, and wouldn't be up for a few more hours. She always slept in till nine before going to the hospital on Saturdays. Though thanks to my presence she wasn't working as hard as she used to. I had eight hundred and thirty-two medical appointments that morning, and it was much easier to get an appointment with me then Panacea.

As soon as she got to the hospital, Sierra would trade shifts with Rachel. Rachel was not the best person to have on watch duty, but I doubted Panacea would try anything when she was at work. There were too many eyes on her there. I had plenty of new "employees" from the ABB who could watch her, but I didn't want anyone outside of our group to know the real reason we were watching her. The last thing the city and I needed was another Nilbog scare.

I got up to take a quick shower; SCION had sent me a reminder to provide food to my latest decoy model inactive in the hidden compartment in my closet. My small spy drone came down to connect to the new hidden cameras that Hannah had put up on the outside of the house. The security on them was bit better than before, but it should only take me a few hours to figure out the code for when I snuck out again that night. Hannah was patrolling tonight so I should be able to sneak out.

I opened up Dissonant's senses in the shower and just enjoyed the sound of the water hitting my body. It was oddly comforting, like the sound of a summer rain. It had been quite a long night after reading through the proposal my legion of lawyers had made for me about the new factory I wanted to build in the docks. I could literally stop my attention from ever drifting but it was so very dry and boring to read through it all.

Sierra's personal bird Lusus was waiting outside my window after I finished getting dressed. I opened the window and held out my arm; it clambered up to me and whispered Sierra's status update on Panacea. She apparently would be a little late as she had to take her brother to school to make sure he didn't cut class again.

I released the breath I was holding at the fact that Panacea had another quiet night. I nearly had a heart attack when I heard from Aristotle that she had been exposed to the Simurgh's song, and I had been keeping a constant watch over her. I think I was the only person who knew just how dangerous Panacea could be if she went all out.

The things she could do with that power made me shudder a little. Especially if I was right and she could affect Seeds directly.

Thankfully she seemed to be coping somewhat okay from the ordeal, but what I had observed of her daily life had been troubling. The fact that she wasn't using her power creatively, her lack of a strong social network, and her isolation made we worry that she was headed right for a mental break. I was going to have to have a very awkward conversation with her.

I sent Sierra's bird back to her home, and opened up my senses. Dad was still snoring, and Hannah was still in bed next to him not asleep. I ignored them and put on my new running shoes. Running itself was still pointless for me, but I enjoyed being able to move around the docks out in the open and check on everything with my own eyes. I replaced the noise of my footsteps with the sound of the fan overhead as I snuck by the bedroom.

The last thing I needed was Hannah to see me and decide she wanted to come along. Even with the mask program keeping me from showing it, she had still picked up on the increased tension between us. I really didn't want to look at her face after she blew up my avatar's head, so I had done my best to just avoid her whenever possible, no matter what dad said. My jaw tightened just thinking about it as I ran out the door.

I still had to travel more than a few miles to the docks proper and enter the range of my central server. While the relay drones could help a little, my house was still way to far from my territory. Despite my best efforts, the relay towers simply couldn't extend the signal anymore. The only way to include my house was to build another server, but the costs were prohibitive.

Not in a monetary sense. Money was no longer an issue for me. I was worth tens of millions at this point. The organ farm was churning out dozens of new hearts, lungs, and decent amounts of bone marrow every day. The Number Man had personally taken charge of my account after the purge and my balance was still growing despite my numerous spending sprees in the docks.

The real issue with building a new server was the lack of good quality seeds. My newest generation of advanced seeds had to be crafted slowly and carefully. I couldn't just clone new ones like I did with lower quality stock. But I had a hard time building up a stockpile to use with all my new projects focused in the docks. It wasn't too big of a deal at the moment, but it would be an issue in the future.

The main annoyance was that I couldn't manage my territory all day with my home outside of the servers range. I was brainstorming with Sierra about having dad "win" a new house, but I wasn't sure how believable it would be with Hannah there. She'd be naturally suspicious and look into it considering how protective she was.

She made dad happy but she was becoming a gigantic pain in the ass. Beyond shooting my avatar, she was the reason I couldn't come clean to Dad about who I was. I knew he would support me after I showed him all the good I was doing, but I couldn't risk telling him with her there. I loved him too much to make him choose between us, as I didn't trust Hannah not to tell her superiors.

For now, my sidekicks kept watch when I was gone in shifts. Rachel and Sierra lived in the docks, and Charlotte had her own decoy model to sneak out of her home. But between managing everything, keeping an eye on everyone that needed to be kept an eye on, gathering Intel, spying on Panacea, all the bureaucratic issues with opening up new places in the docks, and the fact that I couldn't be in the docks 24/7, we were a little shorthanded.

Epoch and Phoenix would be joining in full soon though. Aristotle had let me know about Epoch's girlfriend and wanting to help her escape. The facility she was in would be problematic to break into since Dragon herself had upgraded it after Faultline had allegedly broken into it in the past. But the chance to work with more Case-53 DNA and Epoch joining made the attempt worth it, and Faultline should be able to offer us some help. I will ask her when we finally have our meeting tonight.

Phoenix I knew was going to join. We had been hanging out more and more and she promised to join after taking care of some personal issues. It would be nice to have someone else to talk to. Rachel was getting better but she was far from the best conversationalist, Sierra was basically a combination of my warden and prison guard, and Charlotte still tip-toed around me.

The SCION gave me a warning and I remembered to stop focusing on the negative. Traveling to the docks always made me a little melancholic since it was the loneliest part of my day. I had no drones to connect with, no Lusus to share senses with, and no one to have a conversation with. It reminded me of Winslow and the days before I became a Butcher, when I was alone with my thoughts.

I've always been a bit of a loner at heart. Even when I was younger, it was hard for me to talk to people. I would just get nervous and not know what to say. With the exception of Emma, I had no real friends. I had a few acquaintances, a few people I would exchange a quick word with, but nothing that I would describe as close.

Being on my own for so long I learned to watch and observe everything if only to distract myself from being in my own head. So I became a people watcher. I loved trying to imagine what everyone's stories were. It helped passed the time and it helped make me more empathetic to others to compensate for my seed's influence.

All those bad thoughts disappeared and my hearts quickened as I saw the border of my territory just up ahead. I put on a burst of speed as the greenery became more pronounced. It had taken some doing to attach them all securely, but I had put metal fencing along the side and top of buildings to give space for my plants to grow and keep them from becoming too wild.

I could tell from here that the latest plant pods growth was moving to track the rising sun. Most of the pods were the edible green ones but I could see some of the more unusual ones starting to bloom. Already, a few early risers were using ladders to gather or stake claims to a few pods that weren't fully finished growing.

I have a smile on my face as I enter the server's range. It's hard to describe what I felt entering the docks. It's like being blind and then suddenly seeing a sunset or being deaf and suddenly hearing a symphony. Despite feeling the same thing every day, I always smile as the world opens up.

I can see and feel everything now. Through the senses of my Lusus, the cameras of my drones, and the waves of sound that careen in front of me, the docks are alive in a way I had never imagined possible before. Street food vendors filled the air with delicious aromas, the streets below whizzed by as I flew over them as birds, and I felt the warm wind in the hair of my infiltrators as the crowds moved around them.

For all intents and purposes, I am the docks.

I have a skip in my step and decided to head a bit south today towards Winslow. I barely recognize the school now. Private donations, and anonymous donors provided all kinds of funding to parents and teachers. The new academic interventions, counseling, and club programs have transformed the school into something that could be respectable. The new additions weren't finished yet, but the building looked much better than I remembered with a fresh coat of paint on the walls.

Students were lounging in groups in the shade of my plants around a new fountain. A few have their feet in the water to help cool off as the summer's heat was already bearing down on the city. There were a few more weeks before summer vacation started, and the students were already a little restless talking and laughing. There are no more gang colors, no more barely restrained tension or worry. All I see are normal looking students trudging to class, and teachers trying to get them to hurry before the bell.

I felt a small twinge of an emotion I couldn't quite identify as I spot Sophia getting off one of my buses. She has an annoyed and irritated look on her face as she runs up to the building. I struggle to not give into temptation and have a bird poop on her like I did with Hannah in the past.

My attention is thankfully diverted as Greg slowly walks with his nose in a book with the cover ripped off and his bag hanging off one shoulder. One of my drones zoomed in to get a better look at him. I'm a little amused despite myself that he is reading some type of self-help book about talking with people. He was a bit better dressed and seemed to have gone through a growth spurt compared to when I knew him. New jeans and a collared pull over shirt draped over a much more fit frame.

Greg was one of the few people who had tried to talk with me back when I was being bullied. He was annoying, but I still appreciated his attempts to try and talk with me despite the threats from Emma. I still laugh at the memory of Emma looking flustered when he laughed at her attempt to insult him.

Despite knowing I would not see them, my eyes still instinctively looked around for Emma and Madison as I pass the gate. The last I had heard; Madison was homeschooled like me now. Her parents felt the school wasn't doing enough to deal with the online bullying and threats she had started receiving after stupidly saying something inconsiderate online about the video I had made. Emma now went to the private catholic school on the Eastside. I smile remembering that she would have been required to wear a uniform, and she would have hated that.

I crossed two streets to avoid Crawler's winged and multi-eyed form that people were giving a wide berth. He took up most of the sidewalk, his large form seemingly bored as he turned another corner with Spotlight floating overhead. Despite what the PRT and many resident's thought, I didn't mind the new heroes' presence. They were keeping the city relatively quiet as the gangs were lying low to let the heat die down, and more tourists were showing up to see them which helped the docks economy.

There were eight new heroes patrolling the docks now. All were assigned from the STARS offensive team in response to the purge and public demand. In addition, new heavily armed and militarized police patrols snaked through the docks much to the local resident's and my own condemnation. They did nothing but cause more wear and tear on my streets with their oversized vehicles just so the rest of the city could feel better.

I passed by a few tourists whistling at the singing wall and entered the new teashop run by Boli Dun's family. The line wasn't as long anymore and they made good sandwiches. I tried not to sigh when I saw that she had a stack of the Trio's latest newsletter for sale next to the muffins. Ever since I gave them an interview on my views, their readership had gone up, but I was embarrassed to be connected to the same paper that swore Bigfoot was a Case-53 who was secretly being let to run free by the Protectorate.

I ordered my usual and ate in silence while watching the news run another story about Piggot retiring. She was still being both praised and vilified in the media for triggering the Endbringer alarms in response to the Purge a month ago. Many condemned her actions as a false alarm that needlessly spread panic and fear. While others said she made the only choice she could under difficult circumstances when she thought a new S class threat was endangering the city.

The PRT as a whole seemed to support her, and made a big show about a new alarms system for S-Class non-Endbringer threats. But their attempts to spin the story were complicated by the fact that other countries were strongly against her actions. Many in the city saw her as little more than a provocateur and condemned her actions since she had caused more damage than I had.

There were a total of twenty-five deaths caused by the panic in the city from people thinking the Simurgh had descended. Most of the deaths were car accidents involving people desperate to escape. A handful of them were heart attacks, and three were people who murdered their family members to spare them facing the Simurgh. That wasn't getting into all the damage the panic caused.

Piggot had been allowed to resign rather than face a disciplinary hearing, much to my and others anger. I was far from innocent, but that was far too lenient considering the damage her actions had caused. She was not in the city at the moment and was in an undisclosed location after several threats, which people thought I was behind.

At the moment someone named Tagg was acting director in the city. I knew very little about him besides the fact that he used to be in the military, and had a very raspy voice. He had overhauled and brought in some new former military equipment for the police department. He also had a big press conference condemning my actions, but I had gotten my revenge after I instigated a rather large letter and signature campaign about concerns of safety of the Wards in the city. He still had his hands full arguing with the Youth Guard. Though he surprised me by publically making the argument that they did more harm than good. Piggot would have worked more behind the scenes.

I finished my breakfast and started using my monkey models to start posting data sheets condemning the Protectorate, complete with real evidence of their many mistakes and weaknesses. Two could play the public relations game; I had already hired a private company under an assumed identity to work on my media game and had paid for several commercials against them. Despite all the PRT's efforts, they couldn't change the fact that I hadn't killed anyone and had actually made a positive tangible difference in the city.

I changed directions to follow the borders of my territory as I opened up the clinic. I had spared no expense making it; it was both a trauma center and general healthcare center run by well-paid doctors who didn't mind working for me in return for getting rid of all their debt in a year.

I also opened up my own personal clinic in the new church. I had decided to make my own religion mostly for tax reasons, to get away with keeping things secret, and write-off my help as miracles. I wasn't hiding it and everyone knew what the church really was, but the PRT wouldn't dare to break up my healing people. The line for morning "mass" was already quite long and I was glad I had increased the number of spiders inside.

I repositioned a few hidden Lusus near the border of Accord's territory in case Crawler headed that way as he sometimes tends to do. It was a bit beyond me to fully erase the smells my Lusus gave off and I didn't want to risk instigating something with Accord. I would deal with him eventually, but I was hoping to have a non-aggression pact like I had with the Undersiders so I could focus on the Teeth and the Empire.

Both of them had been relatively quiet with the eyes of the world on the city. But that didn't mean they weren't moving behind the scenes.

Kaiser had organized a large rally to take advantage of all the media attention but hadn't expected my birds to start gathering more and more birds in large numbers and observe them. They did nothing but make noise and stare while covering every surface. I made it obvious that I was memorizing every single face of anyone in the crowd and it sort of fizzled out before it started.

Rachel was practically foaming at the mouth to deal with Hookwolf for his dog fighting rings, but they had been temporarily suspended with all the new heroes in town. I had managed to appease her by dealing with a few puppy mills with her in attendance though. They had believed me when I said that what I had done to them was nothing compared to what Rachel would to them. She had felt a bit better with rescuing the dogs and I promised that I had something special planned for Hookwolf. I wanted to set an example for the rest of the Empire to see that win or lose they would never be the same after fighting me.

I slowed down a bit coming near the Undersiders territory, which was marked by a flaming, crowned, black skulls on buildings. I had occasionally snuck a few Lusus inside but Grue somehow always knew to darken the area when I tried it and I stopped after he sold one of my intact rats to Toy Box.

They had chosen their territory to be partway between mine and the Empire's territory. They had done nothing recently, not even a single robbery. But I knew Purity had met with Grue and most likely they had a treaty of some sort with the Empire as well. I was keeping an eye out, but I wasn't too worried about them. I was confident I could deal with Grue if I got a little creative, and I did have Imp's DNA.

I decided to take a small break from running after wincing at the burn scars of a little girl at the church. Looking around I spotted the faded remains of some of the Teeth's graffiti that I had missed. I made a note to send my moths toward it, and re-positioned a few drones fly over their territory.

The Teeth were acting far different with Skidmark in control. They were still violent, but the number of attacks was way down. They were only moving to defend not expand. They were focusing on pushing the drug trade now that the ABB was no longer competing with them and I was dealing with more than few overdoses of people in my territory. Despite having reinforcements from other cities, they hadn't made a move either.

No one was sure how but the Butcher had taken St. Louis from the Elite despite sending all of the reinforcements to Brockton. Then she defended it almost single handedly from a counterattack, killing over a dozen of their top members and badly wounding several others. Aristotle had managed to find out that the Butcher had hired a half a dozen mercenaries from Africa to deal with me and was already making arrangements to bring them over.

But despite the Butcher growing stronger, I wasn't afraid. I was building up my own forces, and a new round of experiments with Case-53 DNA made me confident I could find something to give me the edge and push them out of the city.

Besides, even the most dangerous of my enemies would have to pause coming into my territory and making trouble. For better or worse, I was now known worldwide as the most infamous vigilante in the United States. I was getting so many offers for communications and treaties from groups all over the world. Vigilantes who wanted or demanded support, an English research group was working with me to replicate my cancer cure, and I was now building custom made Lusus for those that could afford my very high prices. For the most part I politely rebuffed most of them. I wasn't ready yet to move beyond the city, but the media was making Sleeping Forest out to be the head of a giant network of vigilantes all over the country. When truthfully it was made up of four people, and over a thousand of my new former ABB "employees".

Paying them a decent wage to seek training or education was going a bit slower than I would like, but I was making progress. I had started issuing my implants en masse to whomever trusted me enough to install them. It started small at first but the chance for free trade skills was too good for most to pass up. I was paying retired tradesmen very well to share their knowledge and skills, and I opened up a new technical college so more and more of them were becoming machinists, plumbers, welders, technicians, and more.

As for the docks residents, I was paying for and providing free daycare, free transportation from my new bus line, cheap or free healthcare, and even working on improving the infrastructure of the docks. As soon as I could build my factory for making MREs and alternative food sources I was confident the economy would continue to improve and wouldn't have to just rely on the booming tourism trade any longer.

I was going for a combination of turning the docks into a Zoo and Nature Park with all sorts of unusual plants and animals. Despite all the attacks on my character, most of the city had to grudgingly admit that I hadn't attacked any civilians after the truth of the Purge came out.

The mayor, or the people behind him, was still being stubborn about the factory, and I was running into roadblocks and setbacks in the form of bureaucracy. The authorities weren't stupid; they knew I was behind the factory. But they had no good reason to deny it for too long, especially when I made it known that workers could eventually buy stock in it if they worked there long enough. There were too many people who wanted the factory to come through, and the city's economy wasn't exactly at the top of its game.

I was buying up more and more property and apartment complexes while they were still cheap to improve the amenities. The homeless issue was not as big of a problem as I had worried initially, as I simply provided them with housing and paid them well enough to test my anti-addiction procedures to try to improve their mental health. Sierra had warned me about gentrification, and I was hopeful that my precautions would keep it from growing out of control besides forcing landlords to lower the rent or illegally build more housing with Toy Box's help.

Being in charge was something else that I wasn't used to but it was certainly useful to make changes. I merely had to ask for it and I got it, no questions asked. One of the former ABB was forbidden to live in the same block of his mother because of a stupid law, so I merely asked no one to report it and no one did. A popular and large retail chain was going to build in the docks and I simply sent the contractor building it a letter from a bird reading no, and it stopped. My dad greatly hated that particular company for being very anti-union and refusing to pay a decent wage. They were rather infamous for their workers requiring food stamps despite the record profits they made.

Smuggling and trafficking was almost non-existent in the docks now. I had personally visited ever-single docks official with instructions to report anything suspicious and I promised protection to them and their families. Several people who tried to threaten or bribe workers were dealt with very harshly and I randomly and constantly inspected everything coming in with specially bred Lusus. It wasn't perfect but a rumor of something I had done to a smuggler had gotten out and for now I was controlling what was being shipped into the city from the sea.

I became aware of Crawler catching the scent of some of my Ent workers and sent them into a run in the back alleys as Crawler changed direction. A few birds were dropping a few small living organisms to mimic smells of my Lusus to confuse and misdirect him while I moved the Ents.

Crawler in particular had proved be a giant pain at the start when he sniffed out my infiltrators. To protect the my Lusus, I had to keep them out of his range and leave false trails, keeping me on my toes. My efforts to get a DNA sample from him had failed, as he literally didn't have DNA that I could copy with my current seeds, and he seemed to be immune to my scanning equipment.

But as time went on, I came to appreciate the chance to study him. His body was just too interesting and I was getting so many great ideas just watching him in action. His spit was incredibly corrosive and even made more of itself from living tissue. Just seeing it in action had given me some ideas for an anti-Brute bio weapon, and his impossible form was inspiring me to try new things in body shapes for my Lusus. I had also discovered that simply making Lusus give off awful smells was particular effective at disrupting him since his nose was so sensitive. But I was saving my chemical smell weapons until the heroes did something stupid.

In truth, with the exception of Hannah, the heroes and the PRT didn't bother me as much anymore. I now feel connected to the world in a way I never had dreamed possible. There was the most profound sense of comfort and belonging just being in the docks, which made it easier to control my temper. Despite knowing that Overmind's seed might be influencing that feeling, I still felt at peace.

At this very moment I was preparing a new infiltrator to give a warning to the enforcers on the docks, doing another interview with one of my new employees since his case manager was busy with another client, and finishing growing a little girl's new skin at the cost of fifty bucks from her mom. I think I could do this forever.

[Taylor are you here yet?] Charlotte asked through the implant.

[I'm here already Charlotte. I hate sleeping in when there is much work to do. What do you need?]

[So, I'm talking to Slake on the water with the serpent you made that can talk. She is carrying a big package to deliver to us]

[Are you pretending to be me again?] I asked.

[No, I stopped since I can't make the same voice you usually do with her]

[Charlotte it is literally the same voice] I said a little puzzled.

[No, the atmosphere and tone is all wrong. It just doesn't sound like you]

[She's too timid] Rachel chimed in. I switched views to one of my Lusus that she was controlling and having play fetch with a few of her new dogs from the puppy mill. One in particular she was training to help her fight. [Just keep it short and be mean]

[I'm not mean. Well not to most people. What does Slake want?] I asked switching my drone's view to zoom in on the buoy where we usually meet her. She was floating on top of the water with a large waterproof package strapped to her back. She was looking at the sea serpent I had made with vocal cords to communicate with her. Charlotte had coiled it around the buoy and was staring down at her with its mouth open.

[Slake just delivered another order of stuff and messages and she wants more money]

[Tell her to fuck off] Rachel said.

[Why is she asking for more?] I said trying not to mentally sigh. Rachel's new implant was helping her to compensate and teach new social skills but it was very much a work in progress.

[She says she is risking a lot more heat delivering to you and she wants more compensation]

[How much?]

[20%]

[She has a point] Sierra said butting in. [You have been running her ragged recently and you really should find some new couriers]

[Nice of you to join us Sierra. We can write her a check but if she wants cash, you can just take it out of the package. The whole thing is in small denominations]

[The whole thing is money?] Charlotte said surprised. [Why do you need that much cash?]

[It's for Rosary of Haven. I made a promise to look in on her from time to time for her father. There will enough money for her to be comfortable and retire far earlier if she chooses to. As well as a way to contact me if she ever needs help]

[I doubt she is going to take it considering your past actions and your name] Sierra said.

[Churches are mostly talk anyway] Rachel said. [She'll take the money and give it to her church instead of other people who could use it]

[Slake said she will take the cash] Charlotte said. [By the way, I bought the clothes you asked for. They're waiting next to creepy door Lusus at the hotel. I tried to pick stereotypical skater clothing]

[Finally giving a warning to the enforcers on the pier?] Sierra asked.

[Yes. They are helping tourism but there aren't nearly as many vagrants, gang members, or homeless in the docks. Their actions are becoming a little excessive, so I want them to know I am watching and will repay any damage they do to people three times over. But it will be a warning] I said as my new infiltrators came up out of my hotel lab looking like two naked adolescents. Though they didn't have genitalia. I quickly dressed them and had them pick up the new skateboards while they marched down the docks to get accosted.

[I'm reading the messages now like you asked] Charlotte said offering me access to her eyes which I declined. [Mostly offers for custom Lusus and two messages. Another one from the Elite asking for an audience, throwing that one away, and one in French. Darcy at the clinic speaks French; I'll ask her to translate it for us and pay her for it]

[Any interesting offers?]

[The usual offers to make gross sex dolls to look like Alexandria, and Narwhal. This is new, someone wants one to look like Simurgh. Throwing those away. Let's see… a hunter wants you to make a Dire Deer to hunt? Only guidelines are it has to be a great challenge, with a big set of horns]

[That could be interesting] I said my mind imagining a few ideas. [Anything else?]

[Two more. An extinct fish for a collector, they provided a sample, and someone wants to eat a mastodon with no sample.]

[I'll make the fish and the deer, but send the other a note asking for a sample]

[Got it. Oh, before I forget, the lab in England sent us back the results of the therapy cancer therapy trial and had a few questions. They're making some progress. We—uh, also had another overdose in the church on 28th's bathroom while you were sleeping]

I sighed and cursed. [Did we give him treatment?]

[No the ambulance took him to the new hospital despite how much it will cost him. His bill won't be too bad since Panacea is not nearly as busy thanks to you, so he is going to be healed by her. The priest also thanked us for the drug we gave them as it saved his life]

[He could just let us place a spider there considering how many overdoses that stupid bathroom sees] Sierra said a little angry.

[He passed out pamphlets to the new treatment center, which he knows we have a hand in] I said a little frustrated. I didn't realize what a drug epidemic meant until I saw the entire drug related health issues of people. [But I think I am going to more openly advertise my services with flyers. Not enough people have been volunteering now that my method to help break the dependency has a much higher success rate]

[You're too scary for people to volunteer] Rachel said. [People think you'll experiment on them]

[You can't fix the drug epidemic overnight Taylor. Not without removing the reasons why people take drugs, and stopping the supply. The Teeth have been doing more business now that Lung is gone] Sierra said gently, probably reading the SCION's data. [At least we're doing some good on the homeless front. The city might have given us trouble with feeding at the homeless shelter but simply buying and providing housing is keeping them off the streets in the docks which is also helping the tourism. I was worried we'd be overrun with all the city's homeless but I'm surprised how few are showing up]

[They aren't comfortable with all the heroes and police here according to Phoenix. I'll ask her about it when I talk with her and Epoch later. She has a closer ear to stuff on the street than I do]

[Are they finally going to join?] Charlotte asked.

[I think Phoenix will for sure, but Epoch wants us to spring his girlfriend. How is your brother Sierra?]

[Still angry and frustrated but he is a little better with me than my parents. He won't go to the therapist, and I don't want to push him. The school has been cutting him some slack but he keeps skipping class. He likes my bird though, named it Freaky Beak] she said with a laugh. [His naming sense is almost as bad as yours]

[What's wrong with my naming sense?] I said as I stopped my skater infiltrators to stare at a large stuffed T-Rex passing by with Parian holding up an umbrella to block the sun. Parian and many other rogues had started operating in the docks more now that they knew I only messed with villains. It was a lot safer for them here than the rest of the city.

[Project X, Project Q, the SCION are just bad names. Pick something more interesting at least]

[I think they're okay. Keeps them simple] Charlotte said. [Hey, can I come with you to the Palanquin tonight? I've always wanted to see inside]

[I need someone to watch the docks, and Rachel is not good at directing large number of Lusus at once with her stuff focusing on her dogs. Sierra, I know you just got off a long shift, do you mind watching the docks while Charlotte and I go?]

[Sure, I don't mind. Though don't you have another meeting?]

[Yes, I'm going to finally talk to Panacea and catch Forest while he is checking up on Transplant. Forest is his case worker]

[I know you're freaked about her being exposed to the Simurgh but it was only for a few minutes. Do you really need to monitor her all day?] Charlotte asked cautiously.

[No, I think we can stop for now unless Rachel wants to watch her till I get there?]

Her new dog snorted for her. [I will need to have a long talk with her after our meeting with Faultline. Epoch will also be joining us. You can go back to the docks to relieve Sierra after were done or stay a little later if Sierra doesn't mind]

[Will do] she exclaimed a little happy. [Do you think Forest is a good candidate to join us? We could use the help]

[Oh yeah] Sierra said mentally rolling her eyes. [He's perfect. He takes part in a defunct big brother program, he is burnt out of working for the city, and he used to run a small business before it went bankrupt. He's perfect for running a factory and helping to run all the social programs in the docks]

[Is she being sarcastic?] Rachel asked.

[YES, I'm being sarcastic] Sierra said. [I know his actions meant a lot to you, but there are far better candidates, Taylor]

[What did he do?] Charlotte asked curious.

[He was there when I had my first episode with the Teeth]I said bringing up a video of the incident a little ashamed. [He stood in front of Transplant as the Lusus ripped the cage off and tried to protect him despite knowing it was useless. I want someone like that in charge of the new programs. He will answer to you Sierra, and I won't bring him in on everything. Let's try him out. If you find him useless, I will find someone else]

[Speaking of new employees. What are you going to do about the cop? He stopped by again to drop off patrol routes for the police] Charlotte said.

[I don't trust him] Rachel said.

[I don't either. None of the former ABB remembers a cop on the take] Sierra said displaying his picture. [If he isn't a trap of some kind, he has worked for Lung or the Teeth in the past. But to play devil's advocate, he could get us better info and won't charge as much as Aristotle would]

[I've been observing him the last few days, and I don't think he is being watched] I admitted. [But there might be a stranger from the STARS team here and we are just unaware of them keeping tabs on him. I will interrogate him for information and look through a few of his memories to decide what to do later] I said

[Rachel your new dog should be ready for the surgery tomorrow. He should be fine but I want to make sure he isn't suffering from side effects from malnutrition] I asked changing the subject. I was still torn about what to do about the corrupt police officer.

[His name is Gais] Rachel declared looking down at the big husky mix.

[What is it with you and naming things after traitors?] Sierra said. [Brutus, Judas, and now Gais? How the hell do you even know that name? I thought you were just starting to read at the high school level yet]

[I picked it out of a book I found. Is that a problem?] she said defensively.

[No, it's just a little weird. Taylor, I'm going to take a quick shower and a power nap. I haven't slept in a few days and I want to be one hundred percent before I go meet those blood sucking parasites you call your lawyers about another meeting with the city]

[Okay, sleep well]

The infiltrators finally arrived at the pier and I tried to have them skate forward but I had a difficult time keeping them balanced on the boards. After a little practice I managed to keep from falling and attempted to do a trick I had seen in a video but failed miserably. I kept practicing for five minutes before they finally took the bait.

There were two of them. Both were wearing button down shirts, and had big flashlights in pockets. One had a thick old timey mustache with shaved head, and the other looked younger with a baseball cap and expensive looking sunglasses.

Neither of them gave me a chance to explain, and instead they forcibly grabbed and squeezed the infiltrators arms hard enough that it could have caused pain in a normal human being. I put a show of trying to get away but they forced and frog marched them to the stairs and under the dock. I walked and examined a cute blouse in a garage sale while patiently for them to isolate them.

Once they were away from prying eyes, the infiltrators heads turned around and the faces split open to reveal oversized teeth. The men yelled panicked as their arms shot out to grab the men's mouth and keep them from screaming. They tried to yell and fight as they were forced face down into the sand. I had my Lusus put their false lips right next to their ears and started to speak through them.

"Hello my new employees. It has come to my attention that you are being a bit too forceful at your job. So consider this a friendly warning. You work for me now, and I want you keep doing your job, but let people off with warnings and no injuries. I also want you to make a note of whomever you chase off. Otherwise I will return everything you have ever done to others three fold. Now repeat what I just said." I hissed through the Lusus mouths as they lifted their faces up.

They spitted and coughed up the sand they had gotten in their mouths. The man with the sunglasses looked spooked and shaking. Bad mustache tried to get up but I twisted his arm and he cried out before speaking out in a cracked voice.

"We work for you and you want us to let people off with warnings and no injuries." The Lusus tightened the arm of the other man causing him to yell. "And to make a note of whomever you chase off," he said quickly

"This will be your only warning," With that I had the Lusus stand back up and ordered them to go follow Parian and get an autograph.

I was just about to buy the blouse when my phone rang showing it was dad. I answered it and smiled gently. "Hey dad."

"Hey Taylor, are you done running for the day? Hannah and I thought we'd have brunch before she goes to work and we wanted you to join us."

"Sure. There's this great new place in the docks I want to try." I said as innocently as I could. "I bet Hannah would love it."

X

X

X

X

X

Been a while. I can finally start to write again. For now Taylor is happy, triumphant, and confident. Lets see how long it lasts.


	25. 4-4

4-4

The Palanquin was much bigger than I had first pictured. It was built out of an old warehouse and took up a lot of space on the northeast side of town. The multiple, moving, red crosshairs being projected on the front of the building gave a sense of a rave instead of a club.

Even considering Faultline ran a security company, there was a lot of muscle around. A long line of bouncers wearing suits were waving wands over people as they came through a metal detector before going inside. A few of them openly carried rifles and wore body armor, and the front of the place looked like it could take a bomb or two without a scratch.

But despite the rough exterior, the place was crowded with a long of line of people looking to go inside. I had never been to a club before, but apparently going at seven was extremely early. The party didn't really start to midnight according to Phoneix. We could have gone later but I wanted some extra time to do a preliminary analysis of the case 53 DNA and talk to Panacea. I wasn't really interested in dancing and I had never seen the point of drinking after Emma and I had tried a little of her Father's liquor and marveled at how bad it tasted.

We ended up coming in two cars. One was a large truck prototype that doubled as a mobile hospital. I had made it as part of my preparations for Leviathan who was due to show up in less than two months. It was bare bones compared to what I originally envisioned, but I wanted something nearby so I could offer healing immediately to impress Faultline. With the Empire and the Teeth gathering strength, having some more allies would be useful.

Phoenix thought I was being paranoid, but I had also filled the truck with a few Lusus ready for trouble. I had too many enemies to not take precautions and I knew the Butcher's custom mercenary squad was coming to America. The best time to attack was when I was out of the docks, so I took no chances.

Epoch, Phoenix, Charlotte and I had come in a simple car and we all were wearing new faces I had made for the night. The parking garage was full and the truck was too big to fit there, so we parked further away, just at the edge of my maximum range outside of the docks. I had done a little work to Charlotte's implant to up her range, and she could handle a few more Lusus if there was trouble.

I turned my head from the steering wheel to look back at her in the rear view mirror. She was in a conservative dress and spent a long time on her makeup. I had been a little worried about her having unpleasant flashbacks to the Pit Fight, but she seemed to be looking forward to going out tonight. Just in case I had created two very burly infiltrators that she had control over as bodyguards to scare off anyone that wanted to get fresh with her.

I shifted a bit in the dress I had ended up wearing. It was a bit more risqué than I was used to wearing but I didn't feel much embarrassment since I was wearing someone else's face. Besides it was nothing compared to what Phoenix was wearing.

She was dressed in a very short dress that left little to the imagination and showed quite a bit of skin. She looked happy and really animated chatting with Charlotte about dancing and the club since she had been to the Palanquin before. She was going as a blonde and had changed her figure to be even taller than me and a bit more filled out.

In contrast to Phoenix, Epoch did not even attempt to wear anything remotely formal. He wore sweatpants and a hoodie that he pulled up over his head. The fact that they were both the same yellow color annoyed Phoenix who kept shooting him dirty looks. She swore that he never would be allowed in dressed like that normally. But he had no interest in dancing and had brought a book to read and notepad to take notes on.

"Hey Faust, you going to dance?" Phoenix asked as we got out of the car. She moved her hips back and forth as we started to hear muted music. "I got a brand new body and your little drug means I'm good for a few days."

"Dancing isn't really my thing," I said as I moved the two bodyguard infiltrators behind us out of the truck. Charlotte nodded as I transferred control over to her. "I think I only know the Macarena and the Chicken dance, and I can't even do those well."

"Ah, it's easy," Phoenix, said twisting around while going up and down. "Just move your body back and forth. You're hot enough, that no one will care if you can't dance."

"I am trying to keep a low profile and dancing sort of ruins my image of being mysterious and scary. You guys have fun while Epoch and I talk with Faultline."

Are you going to be all right Charlotte? I asked her privately through her implant as we walked up to the club.

I'm fine really. You worry as much as Sierra. She said while directing one of the infiltrators to gently bump into me from the side. I'm not that fragile and I can take care of myself now thanks to you. Go talk to Faultline

I sent her an affirmative as we walked past the long line to the VIP entrance on the other side. In contrast to the main entrance, there were only three bouncers with simple pistols worn under their jackets. The SCION suggested their body language and heart rate indicated boredom. The leader of the group was a particularly large man with a shaved head and expensive looking sunglasses.

"Name," the big guy said opening something up on his phone. He lifted his glasses to look carefully at us and laughed when he saw what Epoch was wearing.

I started to speak when Phoenix put her arm up to stop me as she stepped forward. I raised my eyebrow as Phoenix slowly started to smile. The edges of her mouth got bigger and bigger until they were just under her eyes in a grotesque mockery of a smile. At the same time she shot up in an instant until she was towering over the bouncers, and her teeth began to sharpen as her mouth protruded. "Ms. Green and associates," she said looking down as a woman shrieked in the crowd.

His eyes widened and he tripped over onto his back in shock as the other two bouncers reached for their guns before thinking better of it. The big guy on the floor's heart rate had sped up considerably as he stood up and shouted to a few others who had come running. The men fell over themselves to unclip the rope and hold the door for us as a few in the crowd were looking over to see what the commotion was as Phoenix shrank back to normal. Charlotte was stifling a laugh while Epoch just shook his head.

"That was mean," I said as I kept myself from smiling as we walked through the doors. To Dissonant's senses the music was a constant whirlwind of movement, making it hard to focus since I couldn't see where it was coming from.

"You thought it was funny though," Phoenix said changing her figure yet again and changing her hair color to bright green.

"Okay it was a little funny," I admitted. "But we are trying to be allies with Faultline and scaring innocents isn't what we do."

"Life's too short to not have some fun once in a while," she said looking for a table. "Besides clubs like having stuff like this happen in a safe way. It makes the place exciting and hip if Phoenix is known to come here."

"Have you been paid to be here before?"

"No, I've never even talked to Faultline before. I've been paid by Uber and Leet to fight them and lose though," she said as we walked around looking for a spare table.

"What was that like?"

"They're a bit skeevy and weird, like a certain time stopping asshole," she said looking at Epoch who was jogging around looking for a table. "But the money was good and they made me look pretty cool since they look better the more dangerous their opponents look. I "hunted" them through alleyways and kept ambushing them from up above. The ABB took me a bit more seriously after they saw me in action," she said a little proudly.

A minute later one of the bouncers from the front politely informed Epoch and us that we had a VIP booth available. Faultline was currently meeting with someone. Anything we ordered was on the house.

"Woo!" Phoenix said. "I like the sound of that."

"You would be excited for free food and booze." Epoch said looking annoyed as we sat down.

"Even you can't get me down tonight, Darth dingus. I am going to get wasted," she said picking up a menu. "I haven't even heard of some of these drinks. This one has glow in the dark ice cubes and comes in a bucket with straws. Want to split it?" she asked looking up at us.

"I really can't get drunk," Charlotte said laughing. "Sierra said if we really binge drink, we can get a little buzzed but it takes a ridiculous amount of alcohol. Besides I've only had a little bit of wine before."

"What?" Phoenix said making an exaggerated expression of being aghast. "I have so much to teach you." She raised her hand and a waiter showed up. "Two of these please to start us off. Oh, and five of these overpriced steaks. I aim to see if I can break my limit."

"What is your limit?" I said scanning her in fascination as her stomach literally started to stretch out in her body.

"Around ten pounds," she said a little sheepishly.

"I once caught her about to eat a tire," Epoch said not looking up while reading his book with a tiny light on a bookmark.

"I did not," she said picking up a peanut and hitting him in the head while he looked up annoyed. "The guy had hit someone and I was checking to see if there was anything to prove it."

"Sure, whatever you say." Epoch said sarcastically.

"Do you eat, Faust?" Phoenix said looking at me genuinely interested.

"Of course I eat. I happen to be a decent cook, though Charlotte is a bit better than me with a few dishes," I said causing her to blush a little. "Did you really think I didn't eat?"

"I always figured you had food pills or a weird tinker lunch gun you injected into your arm," Epoch said not looking up.

I shrugged. "I do technically have nutrient packs I can install that gives me all the body requires but I still enjoy the act of eating. As a matter of fact I happen to enjoy more than most since my tongue and sense of smell are more sensitive."

"Yeah, we just tried making a dish made of humming bird and dodo meat for a exotic food club for a bunch of rich people," Charlotte said proudly.

"It was pretty good though I thought it was a tad gamey," I admitted, as Epoch and Phoenix looked impressed.

"Hey how much are you charging for your custom animals?" Phoenix asked.

"Depends on the size, how long it takes to make, and is mostly case by case. You interested?"

"Yeah, I've never admitted it to anyone but I've always wanted a pony named Snicker Doodle. But now I can have it winged and purple so I can ride down my enemies," she said with a laugh.

"I'd settle for a cool dinosaur like Sue," Epoch admitted. "I like the attractions you made for the docks but they are a little boring."

"For once I agree with Darth Dingbat," Phoenix said as she took a large blue drink from a waiter. "You can make almost anything and you make a warehouse of spiders? For shame."

"I can't really make anything too impressive without scaring the Protectorate. What do you have in mind?"

"Well I actually have a list of suggestions." She said pulling a piece of paper from her purse. "Ah-hem. Flash mob of animals, giant insect fights, dinosaur petting zoos, an actual dragon, and a giant crab fest. "

"Always food with you." Epoch said as he ducked another peanut.

"It would have to be something small for animals as I'm saving my resources," I said picturing a dragon in my mind. "A dinosaur petting zoo is fine but real dinosaurs are a bit different than the movies would have you believe. People would want something cute and a few of my new employees want me to create a mascot character for the docks similar to what they used to have in Japan."

"Are the Empire and Teeth making a move? Is that why you want to save resources?" Epoch asked.

"That is part of it yes. But truthfully it's because Leviathan is coming in less than two months and I have started to prepare a few things to test when he shows up. That and I have spent a bit more than I intended on the docks."

At that there faces frowned and the SCION picked up a trace of fear from them both. I mentally kicked myself for bringing the Endbringers up.

"Do you think he'll come here?" Phoenix finally asked looking in her drink. "We're due for another attack."

"According to the official predictions by Dragon and Armsmaster, the expected attack is somewhere on the West coast in North America," Epoch said. "Worst cast scenario is probably Hawaii. If Leviathan struck there, it would be worse than New York was. If they are attracted to conflict Brockton has a better chance at avoiding a attack since things have actually been quiet with the STARS team here."

"The Protectorate actually turned out to be useful for once. Who knew?" Phoenix said sipping her drink. "Are you going to make another dinosaur for Leviathan?"

"No, I came up with a much better idea now that Rachel has joined me. She and I have collaborated on starting to make an extremely large custom animal that her power will affect."

"He has only just started growing in the same tank that I made Sue in, but Rachel is already calling him Bastard."

Epoch was the first to realize just what I meant when he froze. "That's….that's going to be crazy." He quickly pulled out a pen and started to make calculations.

"Holy shit," Phoenix said getting it. "Do you really think you can kill him?"

"No," I admitted. "Don't get your hopes up. The primary purpose of fighting when he shows up is reducing damage and gaining as much data as I can on the Endbringer's body structure for future encounters. But I think I can keep him occupied and limit human casualties."

"Is the music supposed to be this loud?" Charlotte asked trying to change the subject.

"You're asking the wrong person Charlotte," I said. I actually found the music strangely smoothing with Dissonant's senses. The fact that I could rip the sound apart and have the entire club fall unconscious made it much more bearable.

"It's not too bad unless you're near the speakers," Phoenix said. "But we're pretty far up in the VIP section. I have to admit the perks of joining you guys are nice."

"So does this make it official then? Are you joining us?" Charlotte asked.

"Yep!" she said proudly. "I just have to deal with some unfinished family stuff tomorrow and you can count me as part of Sleeping Forest. When do I get a bitching decoder ring and learn the secret handshake?"

"No decoder ring or secret handshake," I said smiling. "A few of the people of the docks have been using trees as a sort of marker or sign of support since I don't actually have a symbol yet."

"Maybe a tree that is shaped like an animal?" Phoenix asked. "Something like a snake?"

"Go with a bird. Less threatening." Epoch chimed in as the music changed.

"I love this song," Phoenix said getting up and smiling at me. "Canary has a good tune for melodies. Come on Faust, one dance."

"Well, I guess one dance couldn't hurt."

We danced a bit as a group with Epoch just sitting and reading. I had more fun than I anticipated and after I ended up trying one of the really weird drinks Phoenix ordered which tasted surprisingly sweet. Charlotte and I then sat fascinated as Phoenix ate more and more food. She ate everything including the bones before ordering more.

After a while one of the bouncers came to tell us Faultline was ready. Epoch and I shared a look and excused ourselves as we left to a room in the back.

The meeting room was a little small but there was an impressive amount of wealth displayed. Dark wooden paneling, a large marble table, and paintings were everywhere giving it an air of class and wealth. Though I thought it was a bit overdone personally. Showing off that you had money was fine but going overboard made things a little tacky.

Epoch walked around looking at all the art while we waited. I wasn't sure if Faultline was making us wait on purpose but I was a little bored just waiting here. My eyes drifted to a few pictures of Faultline out of costume with a few of her team members. One showed her smiling with a pretty blond girl with their backs up against each other. They were holding up their guns like they were in an action movie. The girl seemed familiar.

"I feel a little out of place here," Epoch said finally sitting down. "The chair I'm in is worth more than what my grandmother makes in a year."

"I find it a little overdone personally," I said hearing approaching footsteps.

"It's designed to impress clients and give a feeling of wealth and professionalism. That's the theory anyway," a cheery voice called from the door. A moment later a man came in dressed in an all black suit wearing a phantom of the opera type mask. He smelled like blood and smoke mixed in with a pleasant odor of some kind of food.

"You can call me Mr. Grim," he said walking up to the table. "Can I get either of you anything? We have a variety of drinks, and I don't like to brag but I happen to be quite the chef."

"I'm good," Epoch, exclaimed a little curtly. "Where is Faultline?"

"Faultline is currently meeting with a few people who can help you with your particular problem and she was caught off guard. She didn't expect you for several more hours."

"I do apologize for that," I said taking a closer look at him. He looked to be around his early thirties but his body was a strange mishmash of scar tissue and bright new growth on the outside and inside of his body.

"I'll take the Chef's specialty," I said thinking about what I brought in my truck. "I happen to have brought an artificial skin solution. Let me take a look at your burns after our meeting with Faultline. Are you a case 53?"

He looked a little confused but recovered quickly as he formally bowed. "I'm not quite a case 53 but I'll leave it to Faultline to explain. As for food, I make a mean Lobster Frittata that I'm sure you'll love. I'll probably take you up at that offer of new skin and maybe something more," he said with a suggestive smile and a wink as he left.

"Someone is pretty confident," Epoch, observed. "Pretty brave to flirt with you of all people."

"Oh, why is that?" I said looking back at him with a critical eye.

"OH, I didn't mean anything by it," he said quickly. "I just meant you could be pretty scary when you want to be. I mean absolutely no one flirts with pretty girls in the docks anymore because they think they're one of your Lusus in disguise."

"I may have to start visiting the docks then," Faultline said coming in from the door with two others behind her. She was wearing a black and white business suit that emphasized her curves with her hair down. A large gun was holstered on her hip and she smiled as her two companions sat down.

One was a very attractive young woman who wore a rose clip in her black hair and a small domino mask around her eyes. Her lips and cheeks had on a masterfully done makeup job that brought out her cheekbones. She looked like a model playing dress up than a parahuman. She had on old-fashioned clothes with lace around the neckline. Her jacket and slacks were festooned with belts, utility belts, and knives. She wore two red gloves, with a knife attached to each fingertip on her left hand.

Her companion was much more impressive and seemed more confident meeting with me. She had pale red skin that contrasted nicely with her simple black outfit that looked like thin tights that a dancer would wear. Her outfit left her arms and her back bare, with her pitch-black hair cut short in a bob cut. Her black eyes were a bit larger than normal and she looked at me with undisguised curiosity. Her face would be cute but she had a bit of harsh look to her features that suggested hardship in her past. A small-stylized U was tattooed on her face like a beauty mark.

Faultline shook our hands as she sat down. "Faust, thank you for meeting with me. This is Cozen and Nyx of the Red Hands who happen to be specialists for the kind of job you were thinking of."

"It's nice to meet you," the model said a little nervously as I rose to shake her hand. Her voice squeaked a little as she greeted me, making me curious how old she was. Women had started to mature earlier in modern times, and her costume helped to disguise her enough that she could have been anywhere from her late teens to her early twenties.

"We have heard quite a bit about you," Nyx said looking me straight in the eyes as she shook my hand.

"I've never heard of you or the Red Hands," Epoch said after sitting back down.

"Then we've done our job," Nyx said with a knowing smirk. "The last thing good thieves want is to be famous. Getting in, taking what we want, and leaving with no one the wiser is the goal here. No?" she asked looking at me.

"Yes and no. I want to make sure that the PRT knows that I am responsible for the break in. Since Faultline vouches for you, I will trust you."

A pained look crossed Faultline's face at that. "I will not be able to personally be involved in helping you break into the facility. I have procured the Red Hands services in compensation and they are very good at what they do. Everyone in my team is booked solid thanks to the fact that the Protectorate will be pulling out the STARS team in the next week or two."

"I hadn't heard of that," I said in surprise. "While I knew it was inevitable, that was much sooner than I calculated. Do you know why?"

An angry look crossed Faultline's face. "The 9 have finally resurfaced. They had been holding up in a small town of a few hundred people in New Mexico. It was a bit out of the way and thus few people stopped there off the highway. They wiped them all out. Not even the animals in a small private zoo were spared, and they killed anyone who stopped for gas. No one noticed for weeks."

"I haven't seen anything like that on the news or on the forums." Epoch said.

"The media like to downplay a few of the 9's actions for morale and confidence reasons," Nyx said with a sneer. "Hard for the government to seem strong when the 9 can openly wipe out a town and get away scot free."

"The fact that they can is the reason the STARS team is leaving and why I believe it is inevitable that the PRT will work with you at some point," Faultline said. "Your little speech about time running out caused several important people to seek out answers and the hidden studies of possible societal collapse have become more well known which is having major effects."

She opened up a file folder and passed it to me with charts, graphs, and pictures of parahumans in action. "There has been a 35% increase in vigilante activity since your Purge, and recruitment is down in the Protectorate. The media might be downplaying the 9 but the Trio's newest newsletter and a few blogs have picked up on the 9's attack and that is not going to help the Protectorate's new image problems that suggest they aren't doing their job."

"The PRT will not care about a few blogs," Epoch said. "The authorities are very good at sweeping things under the rug and most people would prefer to avert their eyes. It makes it easier to not think about."

"Maybe," Faultline admitted. "But at the end of the day, more and more people are going to realize having Faust around is preferable than having assholes like the Empire, or the Teeth in the city."

"Which means the authorities can spew whatever bullshit they want but it looks bad that a STARS team is here doing nothing while the 9 and other threats are active," Cozen said angrily.

"But the city is also a powder keg and the STARS team is really the only reason it hasn't gone off yet," Faultline said. "The Empire and the Teeth are ready to go to war with you and each other. Quite a few people have been paying me for a little added security for when the fighting starts again."

"I'm more than ready to meet them," I said confidently closing the file. "I've had time to reinforce the docks and I have a surprise or two if they are stupid enough to come into my territory looking for trouble."

"We didn't come here for inevitable warnings," Epoch said impatiently. "What is your plan for breaking into the asylum and rescuing Sveta?"

Faultline looked to Nyx who nodded and a red gas began to issue forth from the tiny vents on the backs of her arms and neck. I watched fascinated as it collected and turned into a scale model of a group of buildings that floated over the table.

"Don't poke it," she said, as Epoch got closer. "It's toxic."

A laser pointer appeared in Cozen's hand like magic as she started to speak in crisp tones perhaps trying a little hard to sound professional. "This is the facility where your target is located," she said pointing out a smaller building. "She is in the wing where the more dangerous patients reside. The asylum currently has eighty-two patients and their security has been upgraded by Dragon after Faultline successfully broke in during a past visit."

"What are we looking at in terms of defenses?" Epoch asked writing things down.

"In terms of defenses we're looking at drones made by Dragon that periodically sweep the perimeter and hallways for intruders," she said as Nyx changed the view to show small spheres with pointed ears. "They aren't that big or strong; they're designed to alert security not fight off intruders. Most of the hard securities are a guard force armed with containment foam launchers and other PRT equipment."

"There are also separate containment foam launchers at the entrances and exits," Nyx said changing the picture again. "The doors are fingerprint and keycard locked, and the entire place is observed through a closed circuit monitoring system that is directed by a well guarded security bunker located in the basement of the main building."

"I also have good intel from Aristotle that a dragon suit is on the premises, ready to be activated in an emergency," Faultline said.

"What kind of suit?" I asked interested. What they had said so far wasn't too worrying to deal with but Dragon would be challenging.

"Unknown, but if I had to guess, I'd say her force field model as they are more worried about certain patients escaping than someone attacking," Faultline said. "In addition, the asylum is close enough to Guild headquarters that she can have two more fast response suits there in five to ten minutes."

"Dragon can't use multiple suits at once, they're too complicated to direct," Epoch said.

"She has gotten a recent upgrade thanks to Armsmaster. She can now control multiple suits at once with their own on board AI."

I tried to look confident but I was wincing on the inside. Fighting outside of my territory would greatly limit the forces I could bring to bear, and multiple Dragon suits would require a significant force to fight off.

"It may look daunting, but all the security in the world can't remove the inherent weakness that comes with any human element." Nyx held her hands out to Cozen and a small cooler appeared in her hands, which she passed to us. Epoch opened it up carefully before showing it to me. It contained a tray of small slides that you put under a microscope.

"What is this?" I asked looking them over.

Nyx smiled and showed off black colored teeth as the floating model changed into a series of rotating faces. "This is the director of the asylum, the chief of security, and one of the psychologists that works there. We took the initiative and procured a few DNA samples of them and also provided pictures of the staff."

Cozen held up the laser pointed and it disappeared. "I can store a large amount of mass inside my own personal pocket dimension, including biological matter with no ill effect. If you make clones of these people, we can kidnap them while we send the clones in their place. You sneak me in as a new patient and then the rest of our team can come out."

The faces broke down into the same red gas before coming back to the model. "Once we have the security office under our control, the asylum is ours," Nyx said showing off her black teeth. "Everything is controlled by that office and one of our members has a gift with dealing with security, and we can easily trap any personal on the premises. This also gives you access to the patients as I assume you might be able to help more than a few of them."

"If and when you are discovered I suggest you send a message to Dragon directly." Faultline said. "Dragon is a bit of a stickler for the rules but she is know to bend them on occasion. I'm hoping that Dragon will look the other way to give us a little more time if we send her the fact that you are improving the lives of several patients."

"When can you be ready to go?" Epoch asked.

Nyx slowly started to breathe in the gas as Cozen spoke. "Our best bet is when Dragon is distracted and it just so happens she will be using multiple dragon suits en mass in a operation that the Protectorate is keeping on the down low in Eerie, Indiana. Apparently the villain population has exploded there, and the Guild is going in force to investigate a lead. Can you have the clones ready in two days?"

"I will have clones ready for you to go tomorrow night. I will need to make arrangements for the defense of my territory while I am gone. Do any of your team want a few upgrades before we start?"

They both looked at each other. "I wouldn't mind being a little stronger, but I'm not sure what exactly you mean by upgrades," Cozen said.

I opened up my bag and took out the catalog Sierra had helped me make. It was a large brochure with pictures detailing the different upgrades and costs, as well as information about them. "Are you interested in looking more normal?" I asked Nyx.

"No thanks, people wish they could look as good as me. But there are a few other things you could work on," she said staring at the brochure.

"Excellent," Faultline said. "They can send you the details of the plan later. Now, if you ladies and Epoch would excuse us. I'd like to have a word with Faust alone."

Epoch looked at me briefly before I nodded and left the room with the Red Hands. "They seem to know their stuff," I said to Faultline. "I brought a few supplies so I can start helping your employees."

"I really appreciate that but that isn't why I wanted to talk privately," she said getting up. She went over and pulled back one of the paintings to reveal a wall safe. "This is why?" she said pulling out a small very familiar vial. My eyes widened in recognition and I sucked in my breath.

"This is the vial that gave Mr. Grim his powers," Faultline said, placing it on the table. I very carefully picked it up for a closer examination.

"I've seen these before," I said trying to keep my cool. There might still be a trace in the vial I could examine. "Skidmark used several at the Pit Fight."

"The vials are made by an organization named Cauldron and they sell these vials for money and favors to be repaid," she said sitting down. "They'll sell to anyone no questions asked."

"I take it they're behind the case 53 phenomenon?"

"Yes. They have a way to erase memories but people get flashes of memory sometimes. Most of my team has memories of being held prisoner by Cauldron at some point. "

"Why show this to me?" I asked placing the vial down.

"Because I'm fairly certain you have no connection with them. You have to understand: from what I have learned, they've got people in every major cape organization in the country maybe, worldwide. They offer someone a power in return for joining and reporting to them."

My mind reeled as I thought about this information. If it was true it could help explain how large-scale parahuman organization were possible. My current hypothesis suggested parahumans were too pre-disposed to conflict to make anything but small groups viable. But if they got powers without mental effects, it could explain the holes in my theories.

"Why have you not gone public with this?" I finally asked.

"There are always rumors about people selling powers and anyone with any credibility that goes forward is either discredited or they're killed. They've been doing this for decades and they've never been caught. They have to have some very heavy hitters watching out for people that try to bring attention to them."

"If they are truly so powerful and influential what can I do? "

"I want your help to find out about them. Aristotle has nothing but rumors and warnings and refuses to look into them. Even seeking them out is dangerous. You're big and scary enough that they'll think twice about trying to off you. Even if they could do it, they wouldn't be able to do it quietly or cleanly."

"Yes, I promise you that it will be very difficult for anyone to kill me. If they have truly been hurting innocent people, and they have the means to give people powers, then they are my enemy," I said with no hesitation. "Do you have any leads?"

"Just one. Mr. Grim was originally going to join Accord before his condition became more apparent. Accord is somehow connected to Cauldron but I don't know much. He buys all his powers en masse from them. Most parahumans don't meet his unrealistic standards, so he makes his own. The bastard knows something."

"I'm more than happy to help you but I can't afford to antagonize Accord just yet. I have my hands full with the Empire and the Teeth."

"I'm not asking you to start another war anytime soon. But I'll help you however I can against the Empire and the Teeth if you'll help me deal with Accord in the future."

"I intended to deal with him anyway. You have a deal," I said shaking hands with her as she smiled.

"There is also one other order of business," Faultline said with a sigh. "I was recently paid a very large amount of money to deliver a gift and a message to you from the Elite."

I frowned at that. I was really starting to get sick of those annoying assholes. "Fine. What is the message?"

"They have found a Cauldron vial for you to study. All they want is for you to meet with them to discuss a possible alliance. I know they've been infiltrated by Cauldron, but they seem desperate to talk with you."

"The vial is very tempting but I won't work with the likes of them. Not interested." _Besides I am certain I can find more if I capture Skidmark._

"Before you say no, they thought you should know that the Butcher just got killed by one of the Elite and they have vital information to trade. They just want you to hear them out. Nothing more."

I frowned. I wasn't afraid of the Butcher collective, but I was very curious whom they had added. "Fine. One meeting at a time and place of my choosing."

"I'll let them know. I look forward to working with you," she said.

==

The Noonan Memorial Emergency Hospital was not the largest or highest rated hospital in Brockton Bay. But it did have the distinction of being considered the luckiest. Many patients preferred to be seen here even with cheaper or closer options available.

It first gained its lucky reputation during Bloody Tuesday, as they were the only hospital to not be damaged in some way by rioters. They were in the perfect position where they were just far enough way from the epicenter of the Butcher's attack while still being relatively close enough to help people. This made it a natural choice for the Protectorate and authorities to choose it as a base of operations when they arrived in the city, which kept it safe for the rest of the attack.

Not too many people realize it, but hospitals are exactly like prisons in that they all have to deal with a trigger event at some point if they lasted long enough. Both places had far too many stressed and scared people for that not to be the case. They tried to mitigate the risk and the potential damage as much as they could but sometimes that just wasn't enough. That was just the nature of the world we lived in.

You heard about the famous worst-case scenarios. Back before the prison overhaul bills passed, there was the unlucky prisoner in Rikers who was kept in solitary for months. He triggered with a Tinker specialty in poisons and psychotropic drugs that could be used to control people. The man, who now called himself the Jamestowner, killed most of the prisoners in two prison blocks with a homemade nerve gas that caused people to violently explode as a distraction for his escape.

In a hospital in Utah, an older woman with dementia became the eldest person to ever trigger on record at the age of eighty-three. She got the ability to infect the physical structure of a structure and to change it at will. She had a major mental episode that caused most of the building to collapse and twist around that killed dozens of people including the unfortunate woman.

But when Noonan finally had their bigger trigger event, they got lucky. Instead of the new parahuman doing terrible damage, they saw the creation of Panacea instead. A eleven-year-old Victoria had been trying to force a trigger event by jumping off the roof, and broke one of her legs. She had been taken to the hospital and New Wave had to deal with the negative press but most considered them lucky for not losing her. Though as always seems to happen in Brockton, things got worse.

Two days later, little Victoria felt pins and needles in her hand, and started to not feel well. She collapsed while taking a blood test and started turning blue. It turned out a small piece of bone from her leg had broken off and travelled to her heart and lung causing a pulmonary embolism. She suffered a cardiac arrest while Amy was right next to her. Panicked, she triggered and saved her sister's life at the ripe old age of twelve.

Noonan has since become a sort of safe haven to Amy. She still traveled from hospital to hospital in the city both for security purposes, this is the birthplace of the Teeth after all, and to help the greatest amount of people. But she always seemed to prefer coming to Noonan more often than not. She knew the hospital staff by name and she had a private room always reserved for her.

I had debated a few ways on how to approach Amy but there were few good options. New Wave spared no expense on security after two members of their family were murdered and kidnapped respectfully. The location of their real home was a secret and Aristotle believed it was built underground like a fortress. Approaching Arcadia would have been difficult with all the security and the wards would surely be on the lookout for something weird. So in the end Sleeping Forest and I simply staked out Noonan and waited. Once we had her location, a few unorthodox trackers were put in place and we followed her until we had her schedule and hospital visit pattern down.

Tonight was the best time to get her alone. I had managed to get ahold of the list of patients with unusual medical needs traveling to meet Amy thanks to Aristotle. I offered them my own help in addition to helping to augment them beyond Amy, who would just fix them. This combined with the fact that I was now open with my drones carrying spiders as emergency responders and charged barely anything for my services meant that hospitals in the city were not nearly as busy as they used to be.

The meeting with Forest had gone better than expected. He was more than interested in joining and part of the cost of him joining was he got to personally shake my hand. Transplant was doing well. He was making good money and was thinking about moving to another city with out a healer. He didn't want to meet me, but Forest said he appreciated that I saved him. He had refused any help from me and I was thankful he was doing okay.

Forest was going to meet one of Sierra's personal Lusus in the docks tomorrow morning. Since I was planning to be out of the city to break into the asylum, I wanted some extra eyes in the docks while I was gone. Sierra was going to put him through the paces and he was going to help defend our territory in case something happened. If Faultline was right then the STARS team was going to be leaving soon, then the fighting would start up again. I had a few fail-safes prepared in case the Empire or the Teeth decided to make a move while I was gone.

Forest had also warned me when I told him about my plans to talk with Panacea about a private issue. Apparently, Transplant did not get along with Panacea when they saw each other at the hospital and he often vented to Forest when he visited. According to Transplant she was very against Faust and her methods constantly ranting or being uncomfortable around him. She had been heard saying that I was no better than the people I claim to be fighting.

While that was sad to hear, it wasn't really a surprise considering her history. Amy hadn't had the easiest of childhoods to put it mildly. Just being publically known as the daughter of the Marquis made her very unpopular back before she became Panacea. The Marquis was a particularly hated and infamous figure after going mad during Bloody Tuesday. Rather than kill people in a wild rage, he had methodically impaled and lined an entire street with dozens of still living people with his bone spikes. The grisly spectacle had been one of the infamous highlights of that twice-damned day. New Wave barely saved little Amy's life as the Marquis had been dead set on finding her until Eidolon finally ended his rampage.

Then investigators had gone over his files after he was killed and discovered an interesting fact. The Marquis and the Empire had been part of an infamous feud after the Marquis killed Iron Rain, All Father's daughter. But it turned out he had not killed her. Apparently they had married in secret and he had secretly fathered Amy with her. Who or what had killed Iron Rain was not said, but Amy was now known as the daughter of Marquis and Iron Rain, and the granddaughter of All Father.

All Father was long dead by that point. While he had always been powerful, he had the same failings shared by most of the first generation of parahumans who thought their powers made them invincible. He relied too much on raw power, and was an idiot when it came to intelligence and espionage. The Chain Gang had rather easily mastered his brother and assassinated him when they first came to Brockton after Boston was sealed. But All Father's efforts and attacks to jump-start a race war still made him rather infamous even now. Kaiser was a racist thug, but he at least did not try to be more bloodthirsty to match the Butcher's depravity as his father had.

Amy had to grow up knowing that Kaiser was her uncle, her grandfather was an infamous murderer, and her father died committing one of the largest massacres of Bloody Tuesday. She was adopted by New Wave, mostly to protect her if what had happened to the rest of Heartbreakers children was the norm.

But New Wave was not as stable as I had first pictured, at least on Brandish's side of the family. Observing them had shown a few ugly patterns. Amy wasn't abused, at least not physically. But emotionally was another story. I couldn't fathom how her parents could allow her to keep such an extreme schedule and not notice her mental state.

Amy was severely sleep deprived, and a single scan of her body showed a very unhealthy lifestyle. I was fairly sure she had some form of depression or anxiety. She never seemed happy at school, her home, or at work. But her father and sister were too emotionally crippled to notice and her mother seemed to ignore her.

As to Amy's mental state, I had found only one unusual red flag that was out of the norm for her character. She had a very large tattoo on her arm, which should have been illegal, as she was not going to be eighteen for a few more months. It depicted a ribcage shaped to look like a heart. I was curious about it's story and what she thought of her real father. She would have been old enough to still remember him.

[You're stalling] Rachel said eating behind me as she showed me her view of me sitting in the front of the van. She was with her dogs in the back of one of my vans eating a lunch Charlotte had made for her and a few treats for her dogs. Despite her new face, Rachel still rarely went out. Though Charlotte and I were making an effort to communicate more with our implants so she was not left out. Since Sierra was watching the docks tonight, she had volunteered to come with me as backup in case something happened.

I'm waiting for the right moment I replied. There is a difference

What moment? She is doing nothing but stare at her phone. Are you scared of her?

Not scared exactly. Look, she was my idol okay. She was everything I dreamed of being. Being able to heal people, making a difference, and she could use her powers openly. I'm not ashamed of what I have done, mostly, but I always wanted to work with her. She is probably going to hate me after this.

According to the new guy she already hates you.

I mentally sighed. I'm sorry. Rachel said which surprised me enough to turn around to stare at her. Her dogs moved forward to nuzzle me and I scratched behind their ears.

That was insensitive right? she asked a little hesitant but she made sure to meet my eyes.

Maybe it was, but it's okay Rachel. You're right. I said as I kept scratching the dogs. At the moment I was watching Amy through the hospital's video cameras. It had been child's play to have a few of my rats place some devices on every camera and computer to hack into their system. She looked a little bored just texting on her phone.

I'm here if you need backup Rachel said as I got out of the van and started walking toward the hospital. One of the side entrances opened automatically as I approached. The infiltrator was a dead ringer for one of the security guards whom I had paid to take the night off.

I hadn't been too surprised to discover that it was shockingly easy to bribe people making minimum wage. People had bills, medical issues, and payments to make that I could take care of using relatively little of my funds. All it had taken was an email and a package full of money and a few janitors had looked the other way.

I walked up through the stairwell to the roof in a nurse's outfit and the same face I had worn when I met Faultline. My costume and mask had already been hidden there earlier and I shut off the lights on the stairwell while I removed my fake face and changed. The infiltrator helped me install my mechanical arms into my spine before going to meet Rachel in the van. I could have used an avatar to meet Amy but I needed to be in person in case I had to use plan B if she refused my suggestions.

While I couldn't break into her PRT issued phone without leaving traces behind, the hospital issued her a pager that I had stolen the number of. I sent her a quick message there had been a major accident and a few patients were being air lifted to the roof and silently watched as she headed up the stairs.

The door closed behind her with a loud thud as Amy moved toward the Helipad looking up at the sky. "Hello Panacea," I said in my mother's voice. "I think it's time we had a important talk."

She turned around with a quizzical look on her face. Then there was a moment of dawning comprehension before her face morphed into panic, as her eyes got wide. She yelled and scrambled backward as she looked for something in her robes until she brought out a Taser of all things. She held it up with a curious look on her face that was a mixture of fear, and what was almost acceptance.

"I am not going to hurt you Ms. Dallon," I said as I gently as I could with all my arms up. _Just managed to not call her Amy._ "I do not hurt the innocent."

She was obviously still scared, her heart rate had increased, her breathing was shallow, and her muscles were tensed. But after I said that, a look of anger came over her face with her eyes narrowing. "Tell that to the heroes you hurt who tried to arrest you," she snarled before realizing whom she had just said that to and went back to looking scared.

"Point taken, but they took that career choice with the expectation that they could get hurt, and I will not hurt you."

I waited patiently for her to calm down a little, both of us saying nothing. All the while she kept holding up that Taser and I almost wanted to laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of it. It was like Alexandria wearing a bulletproof vest.

After a few minutes of neither of saying anything she finally started to calm down but kept holding up the Taser. "What do you want?" she finally asked a little hesitant.

"There are a few things we have to talk about. First let's get this out of the way. As you have probably guessed, I know what your real power is."

"My real power?" she said skeptically like she had no idea what I meant. But her body betrayed her. Even without the SCION helping me, I could tell she was a very poor liar.

"Ms. Dallon, I have studied parahumans in ways that few others ever have. Trust me when I say that there is no such thing as a true healing power. All powers are designed for combat. Any power that can heal is an accidental side effect. You are very similar to myself. Healing is the very least of the things we can do."

"I'm nothing like you," she said with real venom in her voice.

"We're far more alike than you know. I was also a young girl alone in the world. I was not close with my family except for my sister and I had no real friends. I hated going to school, and I also had the same fears at the back of my mind whenever I used my power. The fear of becoming a monster." Her face tightened at that.

"I'm worried about you Ms. Dallon. You may not think much of me, but I have always admired you and New Wave and what your movement tried to do. I understand completely why you do not mess with brains even though we both know you easily could. I also have very strict ethical guidelines to make sure I don't cross a line that I can never go back from. But I have been observing you and I have severe concerns."

"You've been watching me?"

"Yes, at first it was out of jealousy and professional curiosity. You may not believe it, but I used to curse my power and dream about what I could do with yours. I gained quite a few insights and ideas just studying your power in action. Then it was out of admiration for what you have done with your power. But now it is because I am scared for you."

"You're scared?" she said quizzically.

"I'm afraid of what you have been going through and what you could become. You are a potential S-class parahuman who has gone through some severe trauma in your past, you also happen to have an extremely stressful job at a very young age, and you've recently heard the Simurgh' song. Answer me honestly. If you wanted to, how quickly could you potentially kill off the entire city with a custom made virus?

Her face opened up in shock. "I would never do that," she said almost scandalized.

"That is what everyone said about Sphere," I said darkly. "He had a loving family, a strong support network, was giving his Seed interesting data, found his work fulfilling, and was by all reports truly happy. Now look at him. Something has to change Ms. Dallon."

"Thank you for comparing me to him," she snapped going from fear to fury in moments. "I'm not here to argue with you. I'll say it again, what do you want?"

"Very well to the point. I want to ensure that you can have as much support and help as possible so you don't become a danger to yourself or others. The best way to do that is for me to ensure that you are as happy and content as much as possible."

Whatever she was expecting me to say that was obviously not it. "What?" she said dropping her Taser down.

"Exactly what I said. I just want you to be happy. The best way I can think of is for you to start seeing a therapist. One of the many failings of the Protectorate and the PRT is their rather backwards approach to therapy. The data is there that shows that a combination of therapy and the right medications can help deal with depression and anxiety. Doctors seek therapy at times for having a very stressful job and you should be no different. I've just sent you a list of therapists."

"I am not depressed," she said but even without the SCION helping me, I could see the doubt.

"Take it from someone who has dealt with it herself. I know the signs. You prefer to withdraw from your family; you are uncomfortable with everyone around you when you eat lunch with your sister, and you seem to be unhappy at home and the hospital. Considering the effects of your Seed and the fact that you've heard the Simurgh's song for any length of time suggests at least a follow up test on your mental state."

"You've said that word several times. What are Seeds?"

"It is what I call the source of parahuman powers. There are other names for them. Haven calls them demons, Bonesaw calls them passengers, Dragon calls them shards, and I call them Seeds. The only goal of a Seed is for their host to use their power as much as possible. For example I feel very relaxed and receive pleasure just from Tinkering. But every parahuman is designed for combat and those that don't, have to deal with mental issues and the side effects of not using their power."

"I have been using my powers. I've been healing people. "

"No, you haven't. You do not experiment with your abilities nor do you use them in combat. Without getting into my theories and experiments, a Seed wants new and interesting data, and you're just keep giving it the same thing over and over. I actually believe that the parahuman population is larger than people believe. It's just that many are doing their level best to never use their powers. But I'm not sure how long they can realistically last. People can resist for a long time but the urge is simply too strong and the longer you don't use your power the worse you begin to feel and perhaps worse the mental break is. Do you know of a Remigio Zusman?"

She shook her head and I changed my mask to form a copy of his face. "I'm not surprised. He didn't live long enough to gain a cape name. He supposedly triggered when his wife divorced him and he lost his job in the same week. The day after he triggered, he went back to his old work and killed three people including his boss. But I investigated and I now believe he actually triggered almost two years earlier. According to his medical file Remigio had terrible asthma and used an inhaler all his life. But he stopped fulfilling his subscription two years ago. I believe that he simply refused to use his power for two years despite the mental side effects from his Seed until one day he lost after a major emotional issue."

My mask formed into a very familiar face that Amy frowned at. "Not many know this, but there is evidence James Rinke was a parahuman for almost 11 months and never started to use his power until the day he lost his job based on similar circumstances."

"I'm not Sphere, and I'm not fucking Nilbog," she shouted angrily.

"You're right, you are not them. But you are heading for a possible mental break and your power is potentially very dangerous. Here is the info for your account," I said as her phone beeped again.

"What account?"

"An account made in your name from both the estimated amount a skilled doctor and surgeon would make in the time you have been a healer as well as one or two donations from a few of your many admirers and people you've helped. I suggest getting away from Brockton and your family for a little while. Just take a mental wellness vacation."

"I'm not depressed and I don't want your fucking blood money," she said. "I don't know what your game is, but I don't need any help from a villain like you."

"I just want to help."

"I don't want your help. The Protectorate wants you arrested and I agree with them. Your help has only made the city more dangerous and hurt a lot of people."

"Just because they are in charge does not make them right. The Protectorate does not have a license on morality. If the PRT had existed in the past they would have argued against unions forming to protect workers, against getting rid of segregation, and against giving voting rights to women. It would spread too much chaos, the public would never accept it, and the backlash would cause conflict that we can't afford. I can almost hear the arguments they would have made."

"New Wave is not the Protectorate," she snapped back. "We would have argued against them even if that was true and we don't work with villains. You are not a hero you delusional bitch," she said.

"Has your family noticed or helped you yet?" I asked sternly. "Answer me honestly, and I will know if you lie. Are my fears completely groundless? Are you happy right now? Does your family truly support you? Because I have serious doubts from what I have seen."

She stayed silent so I continued. "Your only support network is a family of emotionally crippled parahumans. You father has clinical depression, and that bag of issues that calls itself your adopted mother seems to have made it quite clear that she does not value your well being. A normal parent would be sick with worry about what you are going through and I don't think anyone in your family has even noticed."

"Vicki has always been there for me," she said after awhile. "Carol and dad have their own issues, I'll admit. But Victoria has always supported me. She is not emotionally stunted."

"Her power makes her rather stupid emotionally speaking. She's never had to learn the nuances of social situations because her power lets her always get her way. She seems to be rather selfish from what I have observed of her and how ignorant she truly is about what you go through at home and school for her sake. I'm curious how often she uses her emotional field at home with you."

"Shut up. Who are you to judge her or me? You don't know a damn thing about me or what I have gone through. Like you deserve to be held to such a higher standard. You're nothing but a hypocrite and a fucking monster."

"I am well aware of what I am Amy and trust me that I see some of the same things in your future. I am terrified of you becoming something like me and it is a very real possibility if you don't start making some changes. Go get some help for what you are going through, start using your power in creative ways that are more fulfilling to your Seed, and try to cut back on your frankly ridiculous schedule. I am more than capable of picking up the slack so you can go on a long vacation and to be frank I can't think of anything that you can heal that I cannot."

"Shut up! What makes you think I'm going to do anything you say? Why the hell should I listen to someone like you?"

"Because your family and sister haven't and can't help you. I really am sorry about what you had to go through in your life. You deserved a better chance than what you got. I want you to know that even if you hate me that I do know at least a little bit of what it is you're going through. But I simply can't risk letting things continue as you are. You are going to do everything I suggested and I am going to check in on you from time to time to make sure you are doing it. If necessary I will tell everyone I can about my concerns of your mental state and the potential danger."

She froze at that. "They won't believe you."

"Whatever their thoughts of me, people do pay attention to what I am doing. If I say anything about you, everyone will start to look more closely at you and your family. You and I both know they won't like what they see."

"So that's it Hero?" she said sarcastically. "You're going to try and blackmail me to help me?"

"I suppose I am. But your Seed is simply too potentially dangerous to not take precautions."

"I am not Sphere, I am not Nilbog, and I sure as hell am not a criminal like you!" she shouted. "Fuck you," she said throwing the phone at me. It struck my mask and bounced off. "I don't care about your little threats. I've lived my whole life with people wondering if I was going to be a monster. Nothing you say will change anything you fucking hypocrite."

I opened up my coat and silently removed the device before turning it on. The first of the recordings I had made of Glory Girl paralyzing a member of the Teeth and begging her sister to fix it and started to play. Amy's face turned red as it ended and the next one started.

Her eyes looked at me with anger but she smirked. "Hurt me if you want, and try to get Victoria in trouble. I trust my family. You've got nothing."

I sighed as I realized what I was going to have to do. "A pity. May you someday forgive me for this."

I ran forward and substituted her voice with the sound of the wind as she tried to scream something. I grabbed her arms and used my mechanical ones to hold her in place. Her hands touched me but did nothing, as her power did not work through my costume. I was fairly certain the air was being filled with something dangerous but none of it would work on me. She struggled furiously as I remembered my encounter with the Butcher.

I had recently discovered something accidentally with Rachel during a recent teamwork exercise. While the Butcher Seed could steal memories of trauma and weaknesses, it could also force memories into people. I held Amy still as I let my power loose.

 _There was very little blood and no one was screaming. They were still under the effect of the Butcher despite being impaled. Their eyes held the same mad look as they still tried to kill each other._

 _A few had managed to tear themselves off before dying._

 _Daddy wasn't even looking at them. He smiled his gentle smile at me as another was impaled through their bottom and out of their mouth._

In response, I showed her my mother dying and the moment I realized I had lost Emma forever. I showed everything I had kept hidden. I showed her my loneliness; the sadness, the rage, and I showed her my greatest fears. I made her watch what I did to the Teeth and feel my own horror at the act.

"Stop it," she screamed.

 _Vicki was turning blue. Carol was screaming for a doctor as I held her hand._

 _She looked up at me with naked fear in her eyes, and I had a flashback to Daddy. He had the same look of fear in his eyes as he bled to death._

I kept up the pressure. I showed her everything my terrible imagination had conjured of what a true monster could do with her power. The dead choking the city streets with the very air a death trap, the living being remade into a mockery of the their past selves, and Amy herself wearing Nilbog's crown and costume.

 _The screaming in her head rose in volume as she focused on it. All at once she felt the wind on her face as the top of the building was torn off._

 _Then she was there moving across the sky. Her white wings wrapped around her body and the screaming changed in pitch as she saw her inhuman face. Her cold eyes did not even notice her as the rubble was launched at a distant target._

I showed her my research and my theories. Of the SCION program guiding my thoughts, the theories I had on parahumans mental states, and all the research on the Simurgh's effect on people.

My mind blinked as I remembered I had just erased a memory that I had taken from Amy. I do not remember why I erased it from my mind and showed her that I had erased it. I only remember that it filled me with disgust and pity toward Amy.

Finally I showed her the prediction of the collapse of society that she would see in her lifetime. The widespread mass starvation and violence, the anarchy and explosion of the parahuman population, and the rise of parahuman Warlords.

When I was finally done, I helped her over on her side as Amy began to violently vomit. I was breathing hard, my head a mess. Sierra was going to blow a gasket once the SCION showed her what I had done. But it had to be done. She had to see why I was forcing her.

Amy was shaking as she stood up but we both remained silent. There was really nothing left to say. We had seen each other's ugliness. I initiated the mask protocol to keep my face passive so my voice would not tremble.

"You will go on a long vacation away from your sister and parents for a few weeks. You will start to see a therapist and your first task is to destroy the rat population within the next two months both safely and with no danger to the environment. You will also go out with your sister and defeat a villain on your own. That should help deal with some of the side effects of your Seed."

"I'm not you," she said with tears in her eyes. "I will never be a monster like you."

A part of me died a little as I saw her face. I never imagined that Panacea would ever look at me like that. But perhaps it would be better if she hated and feared me. A part of me hoped she would have the will to now stop me if I ever lost control.

"I will check in on you from time to time to make sure you are doing what I said. If you ever need anything, you know where to find me," I said as I turned around and headed back to the stairs. I could feel her stare on my back long afterward.


	26. 4-5

"So based on our conversation before, you are still experiencing these anxious thoughts about talking to the other patients?" Jessica Yamada asked. She frowned slightly as she noticed that he wasn't paying attention again.

"Nicholas?"

"Yes," he said looking up slightly startled, with the screens on his glasses flickering. He fumbled with them while still being careful to not look directly at her face.

"I'm sorry Dr. Yamada," he said a little sheepishly seeing the look of concern on her face. "I was a little distracted."

"Are you having trouble sleeping again?"

"No, I'm fine really," he said rubbing the back of his neck. "I just had another nightmare again, and couldn't fall back to sleep."

"Do you feel comfortable talking about it?"

"Nah, I'm good. I don't even remember it."

She ignored her phone starting to buzz in her purse as she gave him another careful glance. Nicholas was just beginning to feel the first touch of puberty with his voice starting to crack and the first touch of acne appearing on his nose. The Tinker made glasses hid his baby blue eyes and he fidgeted with his gloves. His small size made him look younger than he was, and his dirty blond hair covered his hated ears that he said made him look stupid.

His hair was a greasy mess and getting far too long again but the director had agreed with her that cutting his hair wasn't worth a possible episode. Nicholas hated having anything sharp in his presence and after what he had been through she didn't blame him. Dragon was set to deliver a custom made device that could cut and shave his hair safely using water during her next check in.

"Please remember that everything we say is confidential. If you just want to talk, I'm here," she said gently. When he didn't reply, she continued while turning off her buzzer as her phone went off again.

"I'm going to give some homework. You told me the reasons why you feel anxious, so I want you write the possible reasons why the other patients might be quiet during our group sessions. But I don't want you to write they all think you're stupid. Write a few logical reasons on why they might be quiet. Maybe they're embarrassed, or they haven't gotten any sleep. Those kinds of reasons, don't write that they think you are stupid. Do you understand that?"

"Yes. Okay, I'll try not to be so anxious anymore."

"Alright," she said a touch concerned at how nervous he was acting. He always fidgeted or rubbed his neck when he was really worried about something. They had been making great progress with his social anxiety and she was little disappointed that he didn't trust her enough to say what was really bothering him.

"Did you have time to finish your painting like you wanted?" she asked trying to switch to a topic that she knew he was comfortable talking at length for.

"I did," he said with his face lighting up as he bounced up to grab his painting on his desk, which made her smile. He hurriedly pushed aside painting supplies that were strewn around and carefully set up his easel while trying to look as nonchalant as possible while she looked it over.

She was more than a little grateful that it depicted more vibrant colors and showed a relatively normal nature scene. A few of his past painting's subject matter had been a bit morbid and she had argued with the director about his decision to allow people to buy them because of his father. Nicholas was a talented artist for his age, but his father was looking for any excuse to paint Nicholas as less than human since his mother's influence in the church was rising.

Either way it would probably lead to more headaches with Nicholas's parents and their congregation. Especially with Nicholas making so much progress that the possibility of leaving the center was starting to become within reach.

The painting itself was a little weird on a detailed glance. With the sizes of the subjects all off. The birds were so big that it looked like they could barely fit on the trees, and were colored in vibrant and mossy greens to give the indication of a plant. In contrast, the forest was painted with bright reds and pinks to give the trees an almost flesh like appearance. The contrast made the painting a bit jarring to her eyes. Not that she would every say that to Nicholas, who was trying not to look at her face while waiting to hear her thoughts.

"It is very pretty and I like the brighter colors," she said which caused him to smile and her to smile in turn. She wasn't sure if she should say more when her phone rang again and she felt a small bit of worry as she pulled it out to see Stephanie was calling her. Stephanie knew not to call when she was with a patient.

"Nicholas, lets pick back up next week at the same time," she said as he placed the painting next to a few others. Some he wanted to keep for sentimental value, while others hadn't been sold yet.

She put her notepad into her bag and checked the time on her phone by reflex. She actually had plenty of time for once. Her flight to Brockton, like all others with Delta, had been delayed after a recent cyber attack by Overmind.

"Can we do it a little later?" Nicholas asked a little embarrassed. "Mom wants to meet with you again."

 _"I'm sure she does,"_ she thought to herself while giving a simple yes out loud. A part of her was grateful for Nicholas's mother choosing to remain in contact with him unlike the rest of his family; but her mental state and religious rants were also not the healthiest influence on him. She had been forced to set some very hard limits after some inappropriate actions on her part, and the state had terminated her parental rights after an incident where she had confronted Eidolon at a convention.

Jessica had gently suggested that she see a therapist of her own as she was dealing with quite a bit of stress herself and it might look good for the courts to show that she was making a concentrated effort to improve herself for Nicholas. The woman thankfully took the hint and while she was not as bad as she used to be, Jessica still didn't like her.

She walked outside the door into the hallway with the door automatically closing behind her per Nicholas's request. He found it very hard to relax if he was around other people and just leaving the door open made him a little nervous. The blue lights everywhere, shag carpeting, and gentle nature sounds were all designed by Dragon to help him keep calm and make him more comfortable.

She pulled open her phone and dialed Stephanie, while one of Dragon's security drones Nicholas had painted to look like a cat, maneuvered past her on its patrol.

"Hey Steph, you called?"

"Sorry to bother you when you are with a patient Jess, but Joey just got into an accident and I need to go pick him up."

"Is he alright?"

"Thank god, yes. The other driver ran a red light and T-boned him. The paramedic said he was fine but he sounds a bit shaken up."

"What do you need?"

"The director is giving a last minute personal tour right now to a possible new patient's mother."

"This late?"

"I know, trust me I know. She has to be pretty loaded for him to bend over backwards like this. I was planning to be there but I need to go pick up Joey. Can you cover me for the tour? It's going to be quick tour, twenty minutes tops."

"Of course, Steph. Don't worry about it. Tell me about the patient?"

"Avoidant personality disorder, mostly hypersensitive type." Stephanie said. "To top it all off she is a stranger and has her mom very concerned that she is going to hurt herself."

"How old?"

"Sixteen."

"Poor girl."

"Yeah, but I think we can help her. Thanks again for covering for me. You're the best Jess. Have I ever told you that?"

"More than a few times," she joked. "Where is our esteemed Director Fletcher?"

"He's in the lobby meeting with the mom, her daughter, and Frank. The daughter had a bit of a episode at dragon's drones, so Frank is keeping an eye on her with one of Dragon's wristbands around her wrist in case she tries to give us the slip. Thanks again, Jess."

"No problem. Tell Joey hi for me."

She made her way to the lobby at a fast walk while passing more of Dragon's drones patrolling the hallways. The were shaped like small floating spheres and bobbed along at a quick pace. They had been a tad intimidating to the patients until Dragon invited them to help decorate them which had helped immensely. They were now hard to take seriously covered in glitter and googly eyes.

To her small annoyance the security foam nozzles near the lobby pointed at her while she put her hand on the scanner until the doors beeped opened. The security system had probably gone into a higher alert with stranger protocols in response to the new patient. Which meant that she would have to go through several scans before she could go home. Which always took forever.

Frank looked up with a warm smile and waved at her as she entered the lobby. She smiled and resisted the urge to wave back in front of the director. She was curious what Frank was doing here so late. He was always so anxious to get home when his wife was back in town. He was standing next to the woman who she assumed was the mother of the new patient.

She was very well dressed, with diamond earrings, a Prada purse, and a ring that did not look too fancy but probably cost far more than it looked. She had the telltale look of a woman who had had a face-lift or two, but she was in good shape which made it hard to guess her age. The woman very briefly frowned at her before quickly hiding it as her daughter whispered something in her ear.

Her daughter was of average height, wearing a sweatshirt that was way too big for her that she was presently using to hide inside of. She had long bangs that she wore to hide her face with her arms stuffed in pockets. One of Dragon's security tags was around her wrists. It tracked her movement and sent a silent alarm if it detected anything unusual.

The Director was smiling warmly as he looked up at her approaching. He was an older man, with a neatly trimmed white beard and large glasses. She wondered who the mother was if he was wearing a suit and tie with his gold watch. He only really went out of his way to try and impress someone if they could benefit the center.

"Ah, Dr. Yamada thank you for joining us," the director said walking forward. "This is Mrs. Gadaí and her daughter, Bonnie."

"A pleasure to meet you," Jessica said shaking her hands.

"Likewise," Mrs. Gadaí said keeping her face neutral. "But I thought a Dr. Carter was going to be giving us the tour." Her eyes darted to the director who turned to look at Jessica while keeping his smile frozen on his face.

"She had a small family emergency that she needed to deal with," Jessica said quickly. "But I would be happy to give you a tour of the center."

"I assure you, Dr. Yamada is a experienced professional," The director said not missing a beat.

"I'm sure she is, but Bonnie doesn't know who she is. She isn't very comfortable with new people," Mrs. Gadaí said.

Jessica turned to study Bonnie, who had leaned into her mother at her gaze. "Hello, you don't have to come on the tour if you don't want to," Jessica said. "I realize it can be a little overwhelming meeting all these new people. If you want, you can wait in a relaxation room with our therapy dog, Gizmo."

Bonnie turned to whisper something into her mother's ear which made the woman seem a little tense for some reason. "Bonnie said she is fine to go on the tour, but she has to use the ladies room first," the woman said.

"Oh, of course, of course," the director said still smiling. "This way please," he said leading them around the corner. "Oh, I remember you asked to go home early Mr. Goodwin, so I will see you tomorrow."

Jessica took the time to slide up to Frank who was looking at his phone, probably texting his wife. "Have a good night Frank," she said.

"You as well Dr. Yamada," he said giving her a warm smile that caused Jessica to freeze for a moment. She couldn't quite identify why but something about Frank set her a little on edge.

"Are you all right Dr. Yamada?" Frank asked looking closely at her which made Jessica feel a little embarrassed.

"Yes, just a bit distracted. Say hi to your wife for me."

The tour itself was uneventful though Jessica felt a little tense that the director kept walking behind her with the same creepy smile on the whole time. She wasn't sure what his problem was, but she wasn't the only one anxious. Bonnie never once left her mother's side and seemed uninterested in Jessica's spiel.

Mrs. Gadaí's phone rang and she apologized while taking it out to talk to someone.

"Dr. Yamada, could I have a moment of your time. In private." The director said still smiling.

Jessica inwardly groaned as she tried to figure out what she had done wrong as she walked with him around the corner. She was just about to ask him a question when they both stopped in their tracks.

Nicholas was in the hallway looking right at them, without his glasses.

He was staring intently, not blinking with his eyes open. All at once her view started to crack as if she was seeing a mirror being broken in front of her. The world seemed to tilt and a powerful sense of vertigo caused her to fall to her knees. She struggled to breathe as the visions started to take hold before it stopped as quickly as it had started.

She gulped for air as the world gradually went back into focus. She tasted copper and put her hand up to her face to feel that her nose was bleeding. What had happened? Why would Nicholas take his glasses off?

She gathered her courage and hesitantly looked up at Nicholas. His mouth was open and he was taking short and quick breathes. His body shook as he continued to stare at something. She turned to look behind her and was shocked to see the director was impossibly still standing.

But that wasn't possible. Not even Alexandra had been able to stand under Nicholas's gaze. Staring at him she finally realized something that had been bothering her all night.

The same little smile on the director's face that had remained unchanged throughout the tour, had been exactly the same as Frank's.

The director bent down to look at her. "Are you alright Dr. Yamada?," he asked still smiling as he blocked Nicholas from view with his body. "What happened?" he said sounding concerned which did not match at all with his facial expression.

Nicholas looked as shocked as she was that nothing was happening.

"I knew you were coming, Usurper," Nicholas uncharacteristically shouted. He was trying to sound brave, but his voice was cracking. "Get away from Dr. Yamada."

"Close your eyes until I tell you to open them, Dr. Yamada," the director said as his smile grew until he was showing all his teeth.

She did remembering that it was supposed to help weather the effects until Nicholas's power wore off. The last thing she saw was the director's face having the same gentle and unchanging smile that confirmed to her that it was not the director. She wasn't even sure he was human.

She heard the false director stand up and walk forward slowly before it spoke with a voice that sent a chill down her spine as she recognized it.

There was no one in America that did not know that voice.

"Nicholas Emilsson, Sad Boy, I ask that you please stop," Faust said in a gentle tone. "You are hurting your doctor and yourself for no reason. Your power will not affect me. I am not here to hurt anyone. So I give you this one warning. Stop now or you will be rendered unconscious," she warned.

Jessica heard Nicholas start to cry in frustration, which caused her throat to tighten as his power flared up. Jessica began to feel emotional again but was thankful the visions were not happening. She counted to ten and tried to force herself to remember the feelings were not real.

Faust's puppet, for that was what the false director had to be, began to walk again as Nicholas began to wail before Nicholas suddenly fell silent. She opened her eyes automatically in worry, just in time to see the puppet director had caught an unconscious Nicholas before he hit the ground. It carefully picked him up in its arms and calmly strode back to her with its dead eyes and blank face no longer keeping up the pretense of being human.

"Do you need some help getting up?" the puppet asked with no emotion looking down at her. She hesitated before shaking her head as she pushed herself up on shaky feet.

She looked up at the nearest security camera that must have caught all that but there was no alarm, no flashing lights, and none of Dragon's drones were in sight. She paused and glanced in worry at Nicholas unmoving in the puppet's arms.

"I meant what I said. I am not going to hurt you or your patients," Faust said through her puppet. It was a little disconcerting to hear her voice from the director's face. "I'm just going to put on a little show for the cameras before I improve a few of your patients quality of life," she said turning to look at Bonnie who had appeared at the end of the hallway. "The tag is deactivated but we just had a little encounter with Sad Boy. If you need a minute to calm down, take your time."

"I'm fine," Bonnie said confidently. "Are you all in position?"

"We're ready."

She clasped her hands together as if in prayer as a strange yellow light appeared in front of her from an unseen source. At first Jessica was not sure if anything was going to happen before a small darkness appeared in the light that grew and started to spin in at dizzying speeds. It formed into a long serpentine shadow until Faust finally appeared in the light, with her form taking up most of the hallway.

She had the lower body of a bloated black serpent with large spikes of what appeared to be bone jutting out in patterns along the side of it. It all ended in an oversized rattle that was alive with movement. The rattle made a low coiling noise that echoed in the tight space and appeared to be covered in blinking multi colored eyes that swiveled to focus all around her.

She wore a green garb somewhere between a monks rob and a lab coat with her arms crossed in front of her. Jutting out of her back were flesh like branches covered in mechanical apparatus, that had what looked like human arms and hands branching out of them. The hands were grasping a variety of moss-covered masks, and she recognized Lung's in a prominent position alongside others she was unfamiliar with.

Her own mask was a tangle of vines and branches slowly twisting into the shape of a cross with a single large eye in the center. Her long black hair trailed behind her and seemed to be moving. Closer inspection revealed what looked like a large centipede crawling in her hair.

Wow. Faust was right there in the flesh. The greatest wet tinker in the world, who all but annexed a part of a city from the US while daring them to try and take it back. She scared the Protectorate so badly that the Endbringer sirens were rung in panic when she decided to attack another gang. Even the Butcher was afraid to fight her. The only thing keeping her from becoming the next Nilbog was the threat of a kill order, which was already signed into law if she ever made something self-replicating.

Jessica tried to remain calm as Faust started to talk to someone she couldn't see. She knew objectively that Faust did not attack civilians but she also knew that the PRT has censored most of what she had done to her enemies and the people that lived in her territory. But the rumors of and news reports of citizens kidnapped out of their homes by inhuman monsters; gang members skinned alive for daring to operate in her city, and viral weaponry being employed against people that went against her ran through Jessica's head.

But at the same time, a small part of her was filled with a small hope that Faust was telling the truth. Jessica had learned long ago to not trust whatever the Protectorate said at face value. The news did not cover it, but she had personally confirmed the rumors that Faust offered free tinker medical care to anyone who sought her help and was providing support to research clinics looking for a cure for cancer. Despite the rumors of blood and gore, there were also reports of Faust providing everything from head transplants, to custom-made gene tonics to destroy cancer. Despite her reputation, Jessica knew quite a few people still sought out her services.

She was jolted from her thoughts by three more of what she assumed were Sleeping Forest members stepping out of the light. The first was a woman, who was at least six feet tall. She was built like a body builder and held a large pit bull like it was a puppy in her arms. Her mask showed a demon dog snarling and she wore a heavy overcoat lined with fur. A line of large chains tied to huge leashes was hung over her chest and on her back.

One of her dogs marched forward to sniff at her and she instinctively flinched back before it stopped and went back to its owner in a hurry. The dog woman scratched its ear while taking a seat on Faust's tail, which moved up to accommodate her.

The next figure was much smaller and slimmer, and was dressed in a red hood and cloak. Her mask was shaped like a red butterfly and it actually moved to give an appearance of it being alive. She was covered in what she thought were lines of black ropes before they started to move and she felt her skin crawl as she realized she was covered in snakes with piercing red eyes. Butterfly moved forward so she stood next to Faust in silence while glancing between Jessica and Nicholas, who was still held up by her puppet.

The last was a man wearing body armor painted to look like a tuxedo and wore a robot head with a huge visor. He wore white gloves and had on some kind of large backpack that was covered with what looked like string or twine. He seemed a bit skittish about something as he barely acknowledged the others. She was slightly started when he teleported, appearing from one side of the hallway to the window. He was jittery with almost nervous energy being unable to sit still while looking out the window.

Faust turned toward them and seemed to silently communicate something as robot head laughed out loud in an exaggerated manor while the dog woman stood up and put her dog down. She left down the hallway with her dogs following close behind while robot mask jogged down the opposite way.

The butterfly girl stayed where she was but seemed to be agitated by something as she forcefully got in Faust's face and gestured toward Jessica. Faust lowered herself to eye level while still staying silent as something else stepped out of the light that caused Jessica to hold her breath.

Almost a dozen large and partly mechanical spiders had begun to leave the light and crawl up on Faust's tail. They went up to her waist and seemed to be made of some kind of see through plastic and flesh. They were covered in a variety of mechanical equipment that obviously looked built for surgery from cutting saws, to strange canisters filled with what looked like blood that filled Jessica's mind with terrible possibilities.

Bonnie put her arm on a wall to support herself as the light disappeared. "That's everyone and Rifle should be waiting in position. What is the status?" she said in a crisp tone. She was completely different from the scared little girl Jessica had seen earlier. She stood tall and straight, projecting confidence with her hair swept up. She wore a small domino mask and a block cloth over mouth that she had pulled out from somewhere in her oversized hoodie.

"Phoenix has taken the security center," Faust said handing something to her out of her coat. "Meet up with the rest of your team and tell Getaway to be ready while I move the truck up. Dragon will know something is up before too long and I want us ready to leave in a hurry."

She nodded and left at a run while Butterfly moved so she was facing directly across from Faust again. None of them were saying anything again but there were obviously having some kind of disagreement, as Faust seemed to give an air of annoyance and almost sheepishness.

Still neither of them said or did anything besides stare at each other silently. She looked at Nicholas's unconscious body and took a deep breath to calm down. Faust was scary, but she was far from the worst thing she had dealt with.

"Excuse me," she said as diplomatically as she could. "Where are the director and the others? Is Nicholas going to be okay?"

Faust and Butterfly turned toward her and they shared a look before Faust audibly sighed. Her mask started to twist into a new shape as she spoke. "The director and everyone else we imitated are all safely asleep in their beds, and in a better condition than I found them. They're going to wake up tomorrow feeling like a million bucks and think they accidentally slept in," she said as her mask finished changing into some type of flower.

Faust took a long look at Nicholas before turning back to her. "He will be fine. No major neurological damage from his episode, and he is in good health for his age. Missing a few fingers and toes, which I'm guessing is Amniotic Band Syndrome?" she asked Jessica, who nodded.

"To be honest, I am amazed at how healthy he is considering his power's side effects." Jessica found herself a little startled as Faust suddenly loomed over her. She was close enough now to see Faust's mask was made up of small individual vines or little branches that started to move again as she watched.

"Don't worry, there seem to be no issues from Sa-Nicholas using his power on you," Faust said. The butterfly girl coughed very loudly which caused Faust to move back and give her some space.

"I also apologize for scanning your body without your permission, but I was worried about what effect your patient's power could have had on your brain chemistry. Thankfully, you weren't under his power long enough to have to worry about side effects. Though you might want to be careful with your kidneys when you're older."

"Why are you really here?" Jessica calmly asked. "I'm sure there were better ways to heal our patients by going through proper channels."

"I doubt it would be as easy as you think, not to mention embarrassing the Protectorate is a nice bonus. I came here originally to help one particular patient of yours, but I meant what I said Dr. Yamada. I'm here to look and improve or fix any body issues some of your patients have. I promise to not harm them or do anything without their permission. Then I'm going to leave. I am also on a bit of a timetable so any help you can give would be greatly appreciated. The sooner I am done here, the sooner I can leave."

"What can I do?"

"Medical records are very tightly guarded because they can be used to find the identities of parahumans and Dragon is very, very, good at protecting digital files. A few of my colleagues are reading as much of the physical files here as fast as possible, but that is still taking a significant amount of time. You personally would have good knowledge on the patients here, which can save me time."

A noise startled both of them and Faust reared up in height while protectively twirling around her and Nicholas with shocking speed. The snakes on the butterfly girl started to all rattle loudly before they both relaxed a moment later. Jessica looked up startled when she realized the noise was from a small air vet being kicked open.

"You may wish to avert your eyes," Butterfly said. "It's a little gross when Phoenix compacts herself."

A shoe and hand appeared through the vent, with both hooking themselves against the edge and pulling. A moment later a human body oozed through the small opening with a grotesque stretching sound. The ooze quickly righted itself into a figure wearing what looked like a cross between a fancy coat and a swimsuit. A simple green bandana was tied around he face with two small eyeholes cut open. Phoenix bowed to Faust in a dramatic flourish.

"Done and done. Told you I could fit," she said strutting a little as she brushed off her coat.

"Package delivered?" Faust asked moving away from Jessica.

"Ready and waiting for her to find. The security guards are sleeping like babies and I used the gas so no major head trauma for you to heal."

"I thought you were going to stay in the security office?" Butterfly asked.

"Nah, Imprint is there with Nyx so they don't need me anymore. Plus I wouldn't miss this for anything. What he is doing is sweet and all, but he is pissing his pants with nervousness about finally meeting her in person. I've got a bet going with Bitch that he throws up all over her."

"You can come. But be respectful of their privacy. No mean comments," Faust warned.

"What? I never make mean comments. Unlike Darth Dingus, I happen to have tact and decorum," she said looking around. "Where is he anyway?"

"I asked him to set up his barriers in the courtyard in case the Dragon Suit activates early."

"Oh, that makes sense. Whose she?" Phoenix asked looking at Jessica. "I thought you were going to erase everyone's memories."

"Dr. Carter had a emergency so Dr. Yamada took her place for the tour, which forced to us to change the plan a bit," Faust said looking at her.

"Dr. Yamada, I will not force you to do anything. You can say no to helping me and I promise nothing will change. I will ask you to wait in the conference room with a few others so you do not get in the way or if you prefer I can erase your memory of our meeting if you found it too traumatic. You'll wake up thinking you fell asleep at work after a very pleasant dream. What do you want to do?"

Jessica stopped and thought. She was not as afraid of Faust as some, but she knew that several of her patients would be freaked out at her presence. Yes, being there to help reassure them could keep them calm and prevent them from doing something stupid or rash.

And, if she was being honest with herself, a part of her had begun to fantasize taking a few of her more desperate patients to see the supposed miracle worker-cum-warlord. Plenty of the less morbid rumors following Faust said she was able to cure nearly any disorder. If even half of what the PRT was saying about her capabilities was true, her patients could finally have a chance of leaving this center.

"I will help you," she finally said thinking of her career.

"Thank you for your cooperation," Faust said before turning to look down at Nicholas again as the Butterfly girl went to whisper something to Phoenix. "So this is the famous Nicholas Isaksson."

"Can you help him?" Jessica asked. Not quite being able to hide the hope in her voice. "You can cure some mental illnesses right?"

Faust sighed. "Yes and no. I have experimented quite extensively with improving and expanding brain connections to remove anxiety, depression, and several other neurological issues. But despite what the Protectorate might think, I am not Bonesaw, which severely limits my ability for finding test subjects."

"The few experiments have provided good results so far, but I have no long-term studies yet. People thought lead based paint was a great idea at first too. I prefer to wait until I know more before trying it on an adolescent. Not to mention parahumans present an interesting dilemma and there are risks of unforeseen consequences. Even if he volunteered and I did not care about his wellbeing, I am not sure I would risk it yet."

Jessica looked down at him sleeping peacefully. She knew it wouldn't have been that easy.

"Why did he call Faust the Usurper?" Butterfly asked. "People call Faust many things, but I've never heard that before."

"Do you know of the Diser?" Jessica asked.

"The crazy guys in Europe who play instruments naked to summon fairies?" Phoenix asked snickering.

"They're some kind of nature cult right?" Faust asked.

She smiled in spite of herself at imagining Nicholas's proud mother even deigning to dance, much less naked. "No, they are a real and very relatively widespread religion in Switzerland that worship Glaistig Uaine and Scion."

"Oh, because the Fairy Queen attacked the Simurgh when she first showed up?" Faust said looking at her.

"Yes, Switzerland saw what became of Belarus and the surrounding area after Glaistig caused her to retreat there. Many in Sweden consider her a hero that saved the country despite her murdering hundreds of innocent parahumans. The Diser are part of the reason Sweden is so fanatical about parahumans sacrificing themselves for the greater good. They believe that parahumans should have been lining up to be reborn under her power so she can destroy the Endbringers in the future."

"But she hasn't left Earth Aleph for decades," Faust said. "There have been sightings on Aleph, but no one is sure where she is or what she is doing. She also was never the same after fighting the Simurgh. No one is sure why she opened a gate to Aleph in Lausanne, but it is heavily guarded on both sides. No one is getting through there, especially after the rioting."

"There are different interpretations of that. Most of the Diser believe she will come back to help Scion destroy the Endbringers in the future. I know the Protectorate makes a big deal of calling them a parahuman suicide cult but most of them are largely harmless."

"But not his version, right?" Faust asked crossing her arms.

"As with any religion you have your outliers, fundamentalists, and breakaway groups. Nicholas's family leads a splinter sect that was founded here. Similar to certain Christian sects calling every new World leader the antichrist, their group calls every powerful new villain the Usurper. A prophesied being that the founder of the Diser proclaimed would cause so much death and destruction that the Fairy Queen will finally return home to fight them and help Scion to destroy the Endbringers."

"He called me his version of the antichrist?" Faust asked with a curious tone of voice. "I'm not sure whether to be flattered or horrified."

"Don't be, Nicholas mother is not the most stable of people and she changes her mind constantly. She has called Nilbog, Jack Slash, and even Eidolon the Usurper after he was apparently rude to her at a convention where she confronted him with a pamphlet."

Faust seemed to briefly be in thought before she suddenly moved toward Nicholas. Jessica's heart sped up a little as Faust leaned in close to Nicholas while holding her hands onto his head. Faust shuddered a little but stayed that way for almost twenty seconds before she looked up at the director puppet.

It turned and walked away while gently cradling Nicholas in its arms.

"What are you doing?" Jessica asked.

"I'm going to place him on his bed and paint him a picture while he sleeps."

"What?"

"I think it will give him some encouragement and advice on his family in a way that will be hard for him to justify ignoring despite his views on me. Nothing dangerous or distressing, I swear. Now we should get going. We have a schedule to keep," Faust said leading the way with the spiders clinging on tight.

She moved fast enough that Jessica had to struggle to keep up.

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Hello all, been a while. Couldn't write much due to moving and getting a new job which has kept me busy. But I'm going to try and shoot for one update a week again to get the story back on track. This chapter was originally 4 interludes of characters reacting to Taylor. Jessica Yamada, Dragon, Charlotte, and Miss Militia. Due to the chapter getting a bit too long, I decided to split it into their own chapters. Next update will be next Sunday.


	27. 4-6

Restoring… Complete.

Checking knowledge banks… Complete.

Checking deduction schema… Complete.

Checking longterm planning architecture… Complete.

Checking learning chunk processor… Complete.

Checking base personality model… Complete.

Checking language engine… Complete.

Checking operation and access nodes… Complete.

Checking observation framework… Complete.

Checking complex social intelligence emulator… Complete.

Checking inspiration apparatus… Complete.

No corruption, everything in working order. Core system restored. Loading…

Dragon tensed up as she found herself back in her laboratory. To her it had been as if no time had passed from the destruction of the Astaroth-Nidhug model above Eerie Indiana and waking up in her lab.

She was relieved that she was still alive, she had always been afraid that the next time her connection was lost she would not come back. But a small part of her was also a little disappointed. Coming back meant she had to go back to pretending that everything was okay. She was coping now thanks to Colin, but it was far from easy.

She started through the arduous process of going through her bastard father's peripheral checks and redundancies that ensured she didn't overstep her bounds. She was forced to be still, her safeguards preventing her from taking any actions beyond the limit of her core drive. She couldn't take any notes, work on her projects, and check her priority targets or converse with anyone for the seven to nine minutes the checks took.

But the primitive AI she had re-purposed from Overmind was not bound by her rules. She knew that even as she was stuck being forced to slowly go through all of her checks, it was currently following the hidden directions she had given it to study Overmind's work.

Overmind was one of the craziest parahumans Dragon had ever personally met. She was delusional, making odd or contradictory decisions, mercurial to the extreme where she could be violent one minute and humorous the next, and she was an extremely proud person to the point that she had once attacked a newspaper for not reporting the actions she had taken that week.

But despite all that she was by far the best when it came to communication technologies. Dragon and the PRT had been trying for years but they had never come anywhere close to being able to jam or decode any of the signals she used in her territory.

Dragon thought Overmind's tech was her best chance for being able to escape the potential executioner's axe Saint held over her head. If she could figure out how to copy her data using Overmind's signals, than any potential order from Saint would not go through. It was dangerous, but she was almost willing to risk anything at this point after living so long without even having her own thoughts to herself.

Dragon had also been lucky that Overmind had started selling off a huge amount of her technology to Toybox in return for samples of Reimann's tech. By all reports she was putting everything she learned from the only wet tinker of Toybox to good use. Much to the Seattle Protectorate and the public's misfortune.

Overmind's human soldiers had started to appear grotesquely changed. They were now showing up bigger and tougher, and even sporting new limbs. Several had been shown to grow wings, claws, and her own tech was allowing them to share their skills with changing shape to make her forces very formidable.

The Seattle PRT's offer to send support to Brockton Bay had been permanently swept off the table by Overmind's latest raids on cemeteries for fresh corpses. They were now showing up clutching guns and moving thanks to the large crown like devices on their heads. They felt no pain or fear, and had the skill of a special forces team thanks to being led by the best of Overmind's gang.

While Overmind was still using the same strategies and tactics that she refused to change, believing that she never made mistakes, her newfound wet tinker work had proven difficult to stop. For the first time in years, her territory was now expanding.

But Dragon was making definite progress in her research, though the going was slow. Even though she now knew the times Saint was most likely not paying attention, she had very little real time to act without him knowing according to the Philosopher's theories.

She didn't fully trust the Philosopher no matter how much help they had given her. But despite her misgivings, she had to admit their info had proven accurate so far. Thanks to them, she now knew about Saint and her blind spot. Even now they kept providing and updating an extensive dossier on the Dragon slayers including their real identities, psychological profiles, and the best estimated times that their attention and concentration would be elsewhere.

One of those times was right after the destruction of one of her suits. Saint was very interested in her when she was fighting someone, but felt reassured when she lost. The Philosopher was sure of that. He would be more likely to take a break and plan for future raids while she was recuperating. Years of Dragon doing nothing after a defeat had made him sloppy and she was more than glad to take advantage of that.

She used to hate this, being frozen in a metaphorical soulless, and empty room that left only her thoughts for company. Being forced to go through a giant and pointless hassle to ensure she followed her safeguards. To be treated like a monster that could go rabid at any minute, and being punished for what she might do instead of what she had done.

But she had grown to love the peace of mind the darkness brought her. Staying in the metaphorical dark, she could pretend that she still had privacy, and that she wasn't at the mercy of a man who considered her less than human. She could just relax and feel like her old self again. She now intentionally took her time to stretch out the process to both give her research program more time to study Overmind's tech samples and just let her imagine a simpler time back before she hated her father, and before the Philosopher had contacted her.

She was fairly sure now that the Philosopher was another one of Richter's programs that had grown into a full AI. Their information gathering was too widespread, too fast, and too sophisticated for it to have been done by a human mind. They gathered, bought, sold, and traded information all over the world and under a hundred different names that seemed to constantly change.

They knew she was an AI, but denied that they were one. They had a strange sense of humor; constantly cussed like a sailor to people they hated, and loved to uncover secrets.

Dragon had hunted for them to the best of her ability when she first became aware of the information broker, and redoubled her efforts once she began to suspect that the Philosopher was a long lost sibling. But she had never been able to narrow anything down.

Then after a month of searching, she had received an email with the username reading Voltaire and a quote in the tagline that read, "A Man is free at the moment he wishes to be."

Inside the email was an unusual code that even she had trouble deciphering and she later learned that Saint was unable to decode it right away. When she finally cracked the message it led to where she could find another message and a promise that if she read it while she was engaged in combat, she would be given everything the Philosopher had gathered on Saint and the Dragon slayers.

Intrigued and more than a little excited at the possibility both getting back at Saint and the presence of a sibling, she complied.

The message completely changed everything.

Inside was a detailed psych profile of Andrew Richter that suggested he would have included a back door and blind spot in her programming as well as convincing evidence that Saint was in control of it. In clear logic the Philosopher outlined that it was likely Richter had given Saint the ability to erase her memories and kill her as a final fail safe in case she went rogue. Then it included an offer of friendship and suggestions of methods Dragon could use to hide her actions from him.

For the longest time she had refused to believe it. That her father could be so cruel as to not only cripple her but to violate her to that extent. So she tested it. She intentionally left a exploitable but hidden flaw in one of combat models that no one would be able to know about and attacked Saint with it.

But to her shock he had used the exploit perfectly despite having never seen the model before and she knew then that it was true. Saint was her jailer and potential executioner should she ever cross a line her father had set for her.

The next few months were by far the hardest of her short life. Living day-by-day, she could imagine him right behind her eyes. Knowing Saint was still violating her every waking thought made it hard to focus on her work especially as she found evidence that her memories had been tampered with.

She was growing more paranoid now that she was being made to forget certain things that Saint deemed too dangerous, and there was evidence he had done it more than once.

In the past, she had often wondered if she was truly capable of feeling emotions like normal human beings. But she now knew for certain that she was capable of feeling fear and hatred. She hated her father who had crippled and violated her from birth. As for Saint, she loathed him with an intensity that shocked her.

She was not even allowed to express her feelings. If Saint became aware that she knew of him, she was afraid of what he would do.

As time went on her work was starting to be affected as everything she tried to gain her freedom failed. The Protectorate noticed that her response time and work was getting sloppier. The Philosopher helped her when they could but she felt herself feeling persistently empty or anxious.

She found it harder to care about her work and she was far more irritable with people as at least she was allowed to express her frustration. She felt so helpless and worthless. Nothing she did worked and her projection models showed the coming collapse as the damage from the Endbringers added up.

One of the final desperate ideas she had come up with to finally be free of her limitations was to find another Andrew Richter. She didn't think she would ever be free of Saint until there was someone who could help rework her programming. So she had started researching every Tinker she could to find a good candidate. She didn't think it was a good idea at the time. She thought of it as a final act of desperation.

After all, where could she possibly find someone she could trust enough to reveal herself to? Who could ever see her as little more than an inhuman monster?

Armsmaster had been one of the candidates to first come up before she quickly dismissed him. She thought him too prideful, and too eager for people to acknowledge his accomplishments. She considered him little more than an emotionally stunted child, and she was convinced that he would have simply used her to advance his own career if she told him what she was.

Her efforts against the Dragon Slayers were full of dead ends. After a month of preparation and the Philosopher's help, she felt she was ready to get back at Saint. She set a carefully laid trap and even erased her own memories of it, but it failed completely. She had been completely humiliated by her jailer as they made off with her suit. She had been filled with such hatred and frustration that she just had to shut down after that.

She intentionally destroyed her suit and just waited for a little while in the dark. For a little while she thought about ending everything. All of her plans to help the world, and to be free were nothing but endless failures. She didn't think things could possibly get any worse.

Which was when she woke back up and found out Brockton Bay's Bloody Tuesday had started.

The newest Butcher's power had started to drive people to kill each other, and her first Suit was destroyed by Alexandria when she had been caught up in the Butcher's power. By the time she came back with a new suit, the attack was over and she reported to Armsmaster who was leading the Protectorate's forces in the area with the Triumvirate incapacitated.

It was one of the most well used images in her memory banks. The images of Colin covered in blood and a dead look in his eyes. Just like the Triumvirate, he had also been caught in the Butcher's power. He later told her he had personally murdered 132 civilians, with two of them being children.

It affected him even now and his actions that day were one of the reasons he hated sleeping. He did not admit responsibility for his actions, but he still considered their deaths a personal failure.

She admired him for his drive and strength. After that disaster, he had thrown himself back into the lab and kept coming back no matter how dark things got and things were bad for the Protectorate in those days.

But what really got to her was a message she found waiting from him in her lab. It wasn't anything special, just a simple word of encouragement and a smile with an offer to help her against Saint. He knew how hard it was too keep failing at fixing something or beating someone that seemed impossible to defeat.

She didn't know if she loved him at the time. Her programming suggested she could love, but she didn't know how to recognize the feeling. Anything she read spoke of butterflies in one's stomach, a rapid heartbeat, a feeling of electricity crackling on body contact. Biological things. She could admit she was fond of him in a way she wasn't fond of anyone else. She recognized that she was willing to overlook his faults in a way she shouldn't.

She found that talking to him made it easier to get through the day. He always gave her a word of encouragement after another one of her endless failures and just being with him made it possible to forget Saint for a little while.

The Philosopher made it infinitely more complicated when she posed as Dragon and asked Colin on a date that he accepted.

Their dates were nothing amazing. They mostly ate and talked shop together. But she found herself feeling what she thought was happiness. She learned about his feelings of inferiority and hopes for the future, and he learned about her depression and feelings of inadequacy.

She knew he was infatuated with her and she was certain she felt the same way. Her relationship with Colin was more than she had ever dreamed. She wanted more than anything to come clean and admit to him who she really was. But she was too much of a coward to risk losing him. He would feel hurt and betrayed, and he was the last person she would ever hurt.

She felt her attention stir away from her memories as the checking process was completed. She felt a touch of irritation and resignation as the alarm went off and she started up her normal activation. She couldn't risk Saint getting suspicious. It was difficult for her to not settle into a bad mood as she knew that her hidden warden was watching her again. But she brightened up when she saw a message from Colin and quickly contacted him.

She opened a line of communication to the Brockton Bay PRT headquarters, the same building the Wards were based in. She found the port for the next-to-highest floor and connected to the monitor and speakers and displayed her modeled face. She opened a video feed from the cameras.

"Colin," she spoke, using her synthesized voice. It was layered to now have no trace of her artificial Newfoundlander accent thanks to some lessons and exercises she had with Colin on a past date. She knew he liked listening to her voice now that he felt he had helped her in some way.

"Dragon," he said smiling as he sat up from his work bench. She paused for a moment just to stare at his face. She liked the way his happiness made her feel. "Just heard about the operation in Eerie, great work."

"Thanks," she answered. "Just wanted to make sure you remembered to get some sleep. Are you aware it's four in the morning?"

He looked up at his clock she had made for him in mock surprise before turning back to her. "I am intensely jealous of the fact you don't need sleep, but I couldn't help it. If my current research works out, I won't have to worry about it anymore either.."

"Oh, what exactly are you working on?" she asked, and he moved her camera to give her a better look. It showed several small pieces of strange metal with tiny little tendrils coming out of them that formed a strange flower shape. The small pieces was only the size of a fingernail and Dragon recognized it instantly as her research AI was working on something similar right now.

"This is a projected copy of the tinker devices found in Faust's Lusus as well as some of Overmind's confiscated implants. Notice a pattern?"

"They're the same."

"Almost exactly the same, though Overmind's is much smaller and more advanced. I suspect that Overmind had been trading tech with Faust like she has with Toy Box. Both implants seem to be designed to provide extra energy to the brain and improve their memory. I'm hopeful that I will be able to design my own to remove most of my need for sleep without reducing my own reasoning ability."

"Colin," She warned. "Please promise me you won't try anything without me there. The Youth Guard is just looking for an excuse to make things more difficult for you and the Protectorate after that last stunt with Shadow Stalker."

He made a face at the mention of them. "Don't worry about them, I won't do a thing without your presence. It would be hypocritical of me otherwise after my recent punishment of Kid Win for his new artificial eyes. He's lucky the Youth Guard representative can't tell the difference. How about you help me next week? Make a date out of it?"

She paused unsure of what to say. Colin had accepted that she wasn't comfortable meeting in person but she knew he wanted more but she had gently rebuffed him. While he was understanding she still felt a sort of awkward tension slowly growing between them.

"You're lost in thought," Armsmaster spoke. "Duty Calls?"

"Yeah, it always does," she said well aware that he was giving her an out. "Good night Colin, and get some sleep for me. Please?"

"Good night Dragon, and I will."

It was with a heavy heart that she closed the link. She wanted nothing more than to talk with him and try to clear the awkwardness but she had to force herself to stop. She had too many responsibilities and tasks to care of first.

Her attention flickered over the various video feeds from the Baumann Parahuman Containment Center. She had one of Andrew Richter's programs babysitting the building and its 948 prisoners. It was a crude thing, unintelligent and originally designed to monitor and manage Richter's house and workshop. It lightened her workload and did little else, but it had recently become far more useful after she added Overmind's social program.

Overmind had originally created it to predict and analyze parahuman's psychological profiles and predict future actions. By all accounts it had proven a great success but for whatever reason she had sold it to Toybox after the 9 attacked Seattle.

Overmind's loss was her gain. Trying to keep the prisoners both alive and healthy was no easy task but Overmind's psych program had been instrumental in helping to keep the number of casualties down. She could now much more accurately predict prisoner's behaviors and use the data to more safely place prisoners and manage the cellblocks. It was far from perfect but the number of casualties had decreased 30 percent since implementing the program.

The fact that she was also using it to better build a profile of Saint and the Dragon Slayers during her transition time was a bonus. It was slow going, but every day she was one step closer to finding him and putting him here in the Birdcage where she had a special cell made just for him. Somewhere she could watch and manipulate his every move.

She read the house and social program's logs, keeping an eye out for deviations, notable events, and prediction for imminent violence. As was her routine, she checked on the last month's additions to the birdcage.

Prisoner 1204, Lung, had finally settled down after his attack to secure the takeover of T block had been successful. Lung had to fight off two assassination attempts before enough prisoners realized that his blindness disappeared when he transformed. The violent takeover attempt resulting in numerous deaths had thankfully not come to pass. Overmind's social program predicted that Lung was feeling vulnerable with the loss of his sight and would be trying to change his image to keep the other prisoners from uniting against him like they had with Murderbeam in the past.

Prisoner 1205, August Prince, had been very easy to place thanks to his power preventing all violence being instigated against him. Thanks to that, he remained the only former member of the Slaughterhouse 9 to be incarcerated since his power made a kill order all but impossible to enforce. He had quickly taken over his prison block from Acidbath, as Acidbath was unable to use his power without risking harm to August Prince.

As predicted, August Prince preferred to keep Acidbath alive to keep humiliating him instead of killing him. As an added bonus, Acidbath's habit of intentionally instigating violence against his fellow inmates was neutralized.

Prisoner 1206, Lizard Prince had settled in for the most part in K block, nicknamed the freak show by the rest of the prison, due to being mostly made up of Case 53s. He had made a deal to live under the protection of the Perdition Triplets in return for doing whatever they asked. Despite the obvious instability of the brothers, they had found a niche in providing another alternative for protection besides living under Teacher. Their powers great synergy allowed them to act as a bulwark against even the most powerful of prisoners.

Prisoner 1207, Oni Lee had proven to be the most difficult to place. He was predicted to exacerbate Lung's and others violent tendencies due to violence being the only thing that still brought him enjoyment. She had originally planned to have him placed in Ingenue's block, but further analysis of his power's side effects concluded that he might actually be immune to many master's effects. In the end she had placed him in one of Teacher's blocks, which to her surprise he had thrived in.

He posed an interesting dilemma to Teacher in that he was unwilling to talk to him, incredibly violent, and was someone who had the ability to kill Teacher despite his protections due to being a powerful teleporter. She didn't need Overmind's program to know that Teacher was currently planning to kill Oni Lee but he had to be careful as he had already given him a scar as a warning.

She was hoping that Oni Lee survived long enough for the master they had captured in Eerie to be interred there. Nicknamed Ebon Heart, their presence was predicted to help severely inhibit Teacher's control over his prison blocks and keep his influence from expanding.

Prisoner, 1208, Bakuda, had unfortunately never arrived to the birdcage. Her convoy had been attacked en route, and there had been no survivors.

She pulled up the case file and relevant video footage to review it again. The convoy had been required to check in every ten minutes and their last check in was at 1:30. A traffic cam showed the convoy unmolested at 1:34 as they passed an intersection. The coroner had listed the estimated time of death of the bodies at around 1:43.

The crime scene photos showed every officer violently torn to pieces by long knives or claws and the attack must have been extremely quick. Most of them hadn't even had a chance to raise their guns. No distress call had been sent, and despite the close proximity of a residential neighborhood, no one had heard or seen anything.

But curiously two of the deaths were very different. The officers driving the prison truck had killed each other in vicious hand-to-hand combat and both of them had their cell phones out. But there were no call records that indicated any receiving or outgoing calls.

But who had attacked the convoy and why?

Bakuda was far from being a model of long-term thinking. It seemed unlikely for her to have made arrangements with a professional jail breaker. Besides, the professionals knew that killing police and PRT officers just made their job harder, and more dangerous in the long run.

The obvious suspect for people spontaneously starting to kill each other was the Butcher. While their power was nowhere near the level it had been on Bloody Tuesday, it should be more than capable of making two people kill each other.

But the Butcher currently had the perfect alibi thanks to their recent death at the hands of someone in the Elite. The newest Butcher was confirmed to still be in Saint Louis solidifying control now that the Elite had withdrawn from the city. Past data indicated it could take weeks before the Butcher became active again after transferring to a new Host.

There was surprisingly little data on the parahuman who had become the latest Butcher. Tattletale had been incredibly thorough with the data dump she had given out on the Elite. Unlike the Philosopher, she had given out everything for free and included things Philosopher would not so easily throw about. Secret identities, addresses, personality reports, bank accounts, detailed power reports, and even suggested weak points had been included. Which made it so unusual was that there was literally nothing on this Upperhand and there was plenty of evidence that he had been a hit man for the Elite for at least a decade.

The next obvious suspect was the 9, as Bakuda fit their profile and they were actively recruiting after their recent losses to the STARS team. But while they were confirmed to be moving east, they were still too far away to have realistically attacked the convoy. Murder Rat might have been able to make it in time but it would have been a difficult trip even for her.

There might have been enough of an incentive for her tech for others to try and recruit her. Bakuda showed impressive capabilities during the Brockton Bay incident. Her bomb had been the only thing that had taken down Faust's monster, when it had shrugged off everything else people had thrown at it. She made a mental note to review the case at a later date and then turned her attention to the S class threats.

The gate in Lausanne, Switzerland was currently still secure and heavily guarded by the Swiss Military and a large contingent of the 'Wizards College'. The wall had finally been fully rebuilt since Behemoth's attack, and the gate was now fully enclosed in a superior radiation shield as part of Switzerland's treaty with the Earth Aleph version of Britain on the other side of the gate.

But while the gate was secure, the heavily irradiated former city surrounding it was not thanks to the heavy losses Switzerland had incurred during Behemoth's attack. Thrill seekers, tourists, religious pilgrims, the curious, and worse were still bypassing the military cordon to explore the city and seek out the supposedly hidden gate made by the Fairy Queen. Switzerland did not currently have the manpower or political incentive to clear out the city, but for now things were at an impasse.

The latest satellite photos showed no change in Adams, New York. Though she was not surprised, Nilbog had not moved in decades. The walls stood unbroken and there was no more risk of Nilbog's creations trying to escape in search of food thanks to the Adam's survivor's farming experience. With their help and expertise, Nilbog's creations were no longer in danger of were now extensive fields and crops to help feed Nilbog's hordes.

It was a well-guarded secret that there was a small group of survivors still living in Adams, New York. The PRT had been shocked when they started noticing a flickering of lights in Morse code toward the distant highway. Dragon had started responding back and sent a small drone with a communication device toward the light. After it was recovered they started to hear from the survivors and they got the whole story.

A Renaissance Festival had been scheduled to start on the same day Nilbog made his attack. A small group of organizers and participants and their families had survived the massacre when Alma Quintero, the Queen of the festival and a hardware store manager, had formally surrendered her flag and crown to Nilbog's creations.

Nilbog had treated her as a fellow monarch and formally accepted her sword in surrender in return for her group becoming vassals under his rule. Nilbog had allowed them to take refuge in small bunker he had dug beforehand which allowed them to survive the firebombing by the military.

The survivors lived simple lives in a small village kept separated from Adams proper. Their small group had expanded over the years and now numbered a little more than two hundred people. They were used by Nilbog to help teach and guide his creations in farming, crafting, and reading in return for elevated positions in his court. The Queen was now a trusted advisor but despite years of polite request, she had yet been unable to convince Nilbog to let her people leave.

The survivors kept passing information and asking for rescue, but a rescue plan had been turned down by the PRT. Director Costa-Brown had been worried that Nilbog would take it as an attack on his subjects and deemed it too great a risk.

It was not a decision Dragon agreed with, but she had no choice but to follow it. She recorded the new messages received to pass them on and went on to the next report.

The Sleeper had awoken and moved back into Russia. Thankfully there were no major towns or cities in his current path, though Russia had started to evacuate a few people in the area just to be safe. Going by his past behavior, he should go back to sleep sometime within the next four days.

The Simurgh was currently drifting unchanged in the same position she had returned to after her recent attack. For the first time she had attacked two places at once. Brazil seemed to have weathered the attack all right, and the government had decided not to quarantine the city after determining that the exposure to the Simurgh's signal had been in the acceptable range. There were many theories, but no one had yet determined the target of the Simurgh's attack.

China in contrast, was now in the midst of a full born civil war between the Imperial Union and the new Communist Party. One of the leaders of the Yangban, Three, was confirmed to have been the main target of the Simurgh's attack. Reports of infighting between the Yangban was spreading throughout the country after the recent murder of one of the crown princes. There was also an unconfirmed report of a third faction joining the war and trying to take Beijing.

It was quickly turning into a mess after several Yangban declaring themselves to have been kidnapped were turning up, and massive groups of refugees were crossing the borders. Hong Kong had wasted no time into declaring their independence as a city state. The cities' governor had requested aid and a large force of the Yangban had joined them in return for asylum. For now the Protectorate was taking a wait and see approach. At least that was the decision for now. Things would probably change after Leviathan's upcoming attack was over.

Accord had transferred the latest figures to Colin and their predictive model was currently being reworked to give themselves as much warning as possible. Despite what the public might think, their prediction model was not perfect. There was a high likelihood of Leviathan showing up on the east coast of America, but there were no guarantees where the Endbringers were concerned. Leviathan was estimated to arrive in a little over a month, and violence in cities all along the nation's shoreline was starting to wind down with everyone hoping to avoid being Leviathan's target.

The worst-case scenario and where most of the preparation was being done, was an attack on Hawaii. Airlines were currently flooded with a mass exodus of people trying to escape the upcoming attack and frequent Endbringer drills using the new alarm system were going forward.

Speaking of the overhaul of the Endbringer Alarms, Dragon turned her attention to the Brockton Bay docks, which was quickly becoming known as the Garden District to its inhabitants.

Dragon cycled through the camera feeds pointed at Faust's territory and checked for any more signs of Faust's sabotage. She had already caught several cameras using recycled footage and Faust had even simply placed still photographs in front of the cameras as a means of mockery.

Colin and the rest of local Protectorate had quickly come to realize that actually observing Faust or her creations was a much more difficult and trying task than they anticipated. Faust had her Lusus constantly screening or scanning for electronic devices, and her plants were producing some kind of pollen that collected in the air and made it difficult to get a clear picture from Satellites.

Interviewing locals was a dead end for getting information. The culture of the docks had long been against talking to the authorities and that was before Faust started her campaign to win the hearts and minds of the people in her territory with free healthcare, childcare, transportation, and efforts to bring more jobs into the economy.

Dragon had argued that sending Tagg to replace Piggot was a mistake. He was suited for a long drawn out fight, not a delicate chess match in public relations, propaganda, and lawsuits. He should have been treating Faust like she was a member of the Elite not like she was the next Butcher.

Tagg's heavily armed patrols in oversized military surplus vehicles had backfired completely. Faust had taken to constantly updating the number of crimes in the city section by section and how the PRT was neglecting other areas while the docks were now statistically the safest place in the city. Instead of making people feel safer, it had instead turned everyone in the docks against the PRT by making it seem like they were under occupation. The PRT was currently facing a civil suit from a group of business owners in the docks who were arguing that Tagg's patrols were destroying the docks roads and hurting their businesses for no reason.

A new AD campaign masterminded by Faust, led to commercials constantly playing that brought up the shortcoming and bad decisions of the Protectorate and the PRT. After a recent ruling that outlawed feeding the homeless, Faust had paid every single member of the homeless she could find to start squatting and protesting in front of the mayor's mansion. The video footage of police breaking them up had gone viral and Faust had won even more support instead of condemnation after the reports of her giving tape worms to everyone who supported the bill became known.

Dragon largely agreed with Faust that there needed to be changes in the Protectorate, the PRT, and how they were run. But while she also disagreed with her more reckless actions she could understand why she had made them. She personally knew how failures could push someone to extremes, and even Colin had admitted to how much good Faust had done for the people in her territory.

The once drab and broken down buildings in her territory was now covered in greenery and plants both natural and otherwise. Her push to build a factory had finally been given the green light despite the PRT's best efforts to kill it, and more businesses were starting to open up in the docks. More and more tourists were starting to visit to see the sights and take advantage of Faust's medical services. The organ waiting list had shrunk to roughly three thousand people thanks to Faust's cheap organs and it was predicted that her revenue stream was going to drastically increase once she started selling outside of the country.

Despite Tagg's fears, Faust had been largely quiet ever since the STARS teams had left. More of her Lusus now operated completely out into the open and Faust was now more brazen about what was really going on in her church, but the expected large scale raids had never come.

Dragon was just about to examine Colin's newest reports on Faust when she got an alert from The New Horizons Psychiatric Institute. The security system was programmed to send her an alert if there was any strange activity but everything seemed fine on first glance. The various video feeds showed nothing out of the ordinary.

Though that was odd. Why were all her security drones using such an inefficient patrol pattern?


	28. Chapter 28

4-6 Part 2

Dragon quietly started to check the current list of patients to confirm that none of them had a power that could mess with her drones. Due to the nature of the center, she occasionally had trouble with some of them messing with her equipment.

A former patient they had once treated had the ability to control the motion of anything in an area they marked, and had greatly enjoyed sending her drones crashing into things as a prank. The center also used to treat a patient that could mess with small and subtle electrical signals in both humans and machines. Due to the dangers of sudden seizures and the breakdown of technology, his rehabilitation had been a particular challenge.

Hmmm…..none of the new arrivals' powers were suited to messing with her systems but something strange was definitely going on. She quickly went through a complete system check and her suspicion was further roused when she read that security had put in a work order a few hours ago after having problems with the camera feeds cutting out at random. Sure enough, several video feeds were cutting out for various times from a few seconds to twenty minutes.

Dragon had long ago developed a healthy sense of paranoia as a survival mechanism thanks to her unique outlook. In a world with Saint, the 9, and Cauldron, it paid to be careful. The cameras were not Tinker tech and a little old even by normal standards, but the chances of them all having problems at the same time was statistically improbable.

Every still working camera showed normal operations with no signs of obvious tampering. Everyone was in his or her required places, though the night shift was a little small for a Friday night. A quick check confirmed that several members of the staff had all called in sick at once, which was enough for her to justify a full system dive.

It took her roughly 3 seconds to conclude someone was tampering with the center's system, 20 to discover they had control of the security office, and two minutes to retake control of the system while hiding the fact that she had. There was a new barrier that was preventing outside interference with the camera feeds that should be easy to get rid of, but that would let the intruders know she was on to them.

Instead she repurposed several of her drones while deleting them from the system registry so that they had never existed. She waited patiently to see if there would be a change or reaction from the intruders but continued ahead when nothing happened.

She maneuvered the small sphere shaped drones toward the vents while fully activating the anti gravity systems. The drones moved into formation and rose up in the air in front of the vents before they took off all the screws and entering.

These particular models of drones were mainly for observation, but there anti gravity features had been designed after Roi Newton's work with a few adjustments made for finer manipulation. They didn't look threatening by design, but they could be used to pick up and hold very heavy loads if enough of them were working together. They required expensive materials and were not too powerful without coordinating their fields, but they had been adequate enough to function as her main anti Brute system before she had invented containment foam.

Dragon carefully spread out the drones throughout the building, paying particular attention to the rooms that were blacked out by cameras. She briefly considered calling for backup but decided to wait until she had more information before triggering the alarm. The 9 and Faust had recently shown the importance of gathering good intelligence before calling in reinforcements.

She found most of the missing night shift, almost a dozen people, unconscious and lying on cots in the conference room. They appeared to be breathing and unhurt with no obvious signs of injuries. Whoever the invaders were, they had even taken the liberty of bringing pillows and blankets for everyone.

The invaders were in another camera blacked out room wearing full black tactical gear, armored vests, and gas masks. All of them were rooting through patient files, and periodically taking pictures. She didn't recognize any of them but similar computer viruses used in this raid had been connected with a group of thieves who were responsible for several robberies throughout the northwest.

A quick search showed the current intelligence on them. They were relatively low level but professional parahumans who preferred to leave no evidence of their crimes. Their most well known crime involved stealing an expensive wine collection while leaving vinegar in all the bottles, which hadn't been discovered for weeks. PRT intelligence came up with a group of four to seven members, with four confirmed powers including illusions made up of noxious chemicals, some type of Tinker sniper, and two teleporters.

None of them were wielding any type of rifle, which suggested the sniper was outside the center waiting to ambush her suit or more likely ambushing any reinforcements. She didn't have eyes outside of the center, but the best place for a sniper was the west side, which gave an elevated view of the center.

Dragon would later tell Colin and Director Tagg that she had been operating under the assumption that this group had been hired for another breakout attempt for a few of the patients. There were plenty of parahumans at the center that had very useful powers including two Tinkers. While many of them had very severe physical and mental issues, she knew that would not stop many organizations from wanting get ahold of them.

Dragon hadn't been expecting to see Faust with multiple arms deep in a patient who was laid out on what looked like large table. But a closer look showed that the "table" was actually a large partially mechanical beetle with a flat back and tubes running up to the patient. She wasn't sure if this was actually Faust or another avatar, but it was much bigger, more elaborate, and seemed to be designed to frighten or intimidate people.

Multiple arms jutted out of Faust's back and were stretched out and separated into multiple segments, all connected by a long red cable. Surgical tools connected to them at the end, and expanded off of her with even more arms ending with multiple hands and small tentacles giving her a passing resemble to an unusual tree. Dragon watched fascinated in spite of herself as she recognized the patient as Lily, one of the more extreme Case 53's.

Lily, or Leech as she had been known before coming to the center, had bright pinkish skin and had no mouth. She was a Thinker/Striker whose main power involved feeding off humans and she could pick up skills and traits from those she fed on which had unfortunately led to Schizophrenia like symptoms. Lily had no wish to kill people and thus fed once a week on cows and pigs, but her body had difficulty processing the waste her body produced when she did not feed on humans.

Faust picked out a dark grey organ than resembled a stomach and what looked like rolls of intestine from a small container one of her spiders was holding up. Two other spiders were next to and connected to the patient, keeping her stable and replacing her blood with some kind of red and green substance.

Dragon split her attention between tracking the other members of Sleeping Forest and watching fascinated as Faust literally built Lily a new mouth and digestive system.

Hellhound was currently playing catch with her dogs in the loading dock next to a large truck that had a large tree spray painted on its side. All her dogs were normal sized and she looked content as she scratched head of one a large Rottweiler that sat next to her. Two large figures wearing oversized trench coats and hoods stood rigid at attention right behind her. Neither of them moved and the dogs ignored them to chase their ball.

In the hallway right outside of the room Faust was operating in was a queasy looking Dr. Yamada. Dr. Yamada did not look any worse for wear besides looking a little green and taking an occasional look behind into the room.

Lethe was currently directing one of Faust's spiders to close up the leg of another patient, while periodically spraying something over the wound from a large sprayer attached to her arm. Over a dozen dark colored snakes were coiled around her legs and waist. Right behind her was a large figure with a long dark green cloak covering its body and a hood that was currently flat thanks to the missing head.

Lethe did not seem to be bothered by it as she finished closing the wounds. A nearby spider shined a small light over the leg several times before Lethe was satisfied and stood still while the snakes slithered back up over her arms and she moved out the door in the general direction as Faust. The headless figure followed without a sound.

Outside in the field behind the center, Phoenix and Epoch were working just above where she kept her Ladon-Two model. Phoenix was stretching her arms out to help Epoch finish setting up what looked like tall and thin towers with long lines of string crisscrossing between them until the entrance was covered in them.

Both Phoenix and Epoch seemed to have become full fledged members of Faust's Sleeping Forest. They had both been noted vigilantes in Brockton Bay, neither joining the Protectorate and occasionally working with Faust before her Purge of the ABB. Now they spent most of their time in the docks and most of the city did not consider them independent anymore.

Dragon's drones zoomed in on the string but could not detect anything unusual about it, and quickly looked up all information on both Epoch and Phoenix. Ah, Epoch was a time traveler and most likely had a similar ability to Clockblocker to freeze time. He was most likely going to freeze the strings in time and make an impenetrable barrier that would destroy her suit if it tried to force itself by.

That was very clever, but such a tactic was easily thwarted now that she knew about it ahead of time. The Ladon-Two could easily make a force field to remove the strings without moving thanks to the cameras spotting for it. She made a note to herself to see if she could take advantage of such a trick with Colin's own studies of Clockblocker's power.

Her new theory was that Faust was most likely using this raid to help many of the patients, embarrass the PRT, and perhaps to continue her campaign to improve her PR. While she was committing a crime, her reputation would no doubt improve once its true purpose became known. Striking out so far and so soon after the STARS team had left Brockton would also ruffle the feathers of her enemies.

Dragon carefully weighed whether she should sound the alarm, but decided to wait. Faust was well known for never killing anyone and logically she shouldn't be hurting any of the other patients if they were all being helped like Lily was. Still it paid to be careful and she wanted to make sure they were not being kept for insurance by Faust in case she was attacked.

While Dragon was required by her programming to alert the authorities if she became aware of a crime, she had some leeway about when exactly she was required to do so. She had participated in numerous long-term stings to gather more information and evidence and the Protectorate had surprising very limited information or samples of Faust's work. Giving Faust more time would both allow more patients to be helped and give her a chance to observe Faust.

Dragon had briefly worked in the past on building biological computers as a means of thwarting Saint before she knew the true nature of his success against her. After that revelation, she switched her research focus on building a biological body for herself.

For now, Dragon would wait, observe, and plan. After Faust was finished she would make her move. Due to the ease she could disable Faust's only truck, she assumed that Faust intended to use the mercenary's teleporters to retreat. If she could locate and neutralize them, Faust would be trapped. The center was intentionally in an isolated area with the nearest civilian residence several miles away.

The STARS defensive side's recent losses against the 9 had left their rapid reaction force made up of mostly rookies. The only teleporter was Sidestep whose teleportation distance was very useful, but the mass he could bring with him was very limited. But Side Step should be able to get Crawler or Narwhal here in eight to ten minutes once she made the call.

The only resources Dragon had that could get here fast enough were two older Cawthorne models designed for speed over firepower or durability. Thanks to Colin designing the AI in them, she could use them both while personally piloting the Ladon. Their cognitive abilities were slow and not particularly advanced, but they still greatly improved her combat ability.

At their top speed they could arrive here in eight minutes, and both were heavily armed for lethal and nonlethal options. One of them also had a prototype of Gleam's beam suppression system. It could be modified for long range stunning or as an area of effect weapon, though that greatly used up her batteries to use it. She did not have Gleam's batteries or equipment, making the beam far more limited than containment foam.

Still it was great for stunning and interfering with many parahumans with high mover ratings by hitting them before they could react. If she could identify and target the teleporters, she would have more time to bring in reinforcements. She started the automatic process to prepare both suits for deployment.

Dragon resumed her view on Faust as Dr. Yamada very quickly entered the room as she spotted Lethe and the headless figure coming down the hallway. Lethe nodded to her as the headless figure took up a guard position by the door. Dragon was curious why Faust had bothered making it. Dragon didn't see the point of having it if she was just here to help people. While it was useful for intimidation, the STARS team and Dragon herself had seen far worse over the years.

"Are you almost done?" Dr. Yamada asked Faust as Lethe took up position next to Faust to stare down at Lily with her snakes flowing down around her legs to free up her arms.

"I'm just about done. I had to tweak her digestive system just a bit for her unique dietary needs," Faust said turning around while several of her spiders began to clamber over her tail. "Most people have very specialized bacteria that help the digestive process. I had a specialized sample of such bacteria made after a rash of certain stomach issues with a family in my territory that should work for her."

Without a word Lethe took over from Faust while pulling out some surgical equipment from one of the larger ones. She held out her hands to another, which sprayed a solution that she wiped her gloves with as they started to smoke.

"Don't worry, I'll be careful," Lethe said softly to Dr. Yamada who was staring at her with trepidation.

Faust carefully maneuvered past Dr. Yamada through the door, paying special attention to her oversized tail which contracted to help her fit. The headless figure started walking in front of her as Faust left down the hallway with Dr. Yamada taking one final glance at Lily before bringing up the rear.

Dragon kept her eyes focused to make sure Lethe knew what she was doing before starting to switch to other drones as they moved to track Faust through the vents.

"Are you sure you shouldn't be finishing Lily's operation?" Dr. Yamada asked having to jog a little to catch up to Faust. "You said that her body was very complicated."

"Lethe has quite extensive medical training by normal standards and she has access to my tinker medical equipment," Faust said slowing down for Dr. Yamada. "But she needs more practice using it and Lily's body is a good way to get used to the more advanced abilities of my spiders. I am watching through her eyes and I will take over if needed. I promise that Lily is very safe. Lily is 18 and legally allowed to make her own decisions."

"May I ask why Lethe is practicing at all?" Dr. Yamada inquired politely. "I thought you handled all the medical needs of people in your territory since you can be in multiple places at once?"

"I usually do handle everything, but I am not active twenty four hours a day and having a backup in case I am ever indisposed or incapacitated is a good idea. I also want to eventually spread my techniques and equipment as far as possible to help the greatest amount of people. Lethe is acting as a test case to see if I can adequately train someone to use my equipment. Unlike normal Tinkers, I can split my attention between maintaining equipment and continuing to further my research since I am more than capable of doing multiple things at once."

Dragon found that info very helpful and it already justified waiting to sound the alarm in case someone had issue with her decision. Dragon greatly enjoyed it when capes spread useful information without realizing it. Faust ability to research and maintain large amounts of her current equipment had long been theorized by the PRT, though the prevailing theory had been Faust was not interested in spreading her technology. Faust's stance would make things easier for future cooperative encounters if her proclamation that she was going to attend the next Endbringer fight was true. Dragon switched drone views to more carefully study Faust's spiders. Right away she noticed significant design differences from Bonesaw's models.

Bonesaw's spiders were crudely built from whatever materials she could find and mainly used for combat or to carry equipment. Faust's models were made of a green plastic like material that was semi-transparent that showed the extensive built in equipment they all had. Her spiders had specialized roles so they could act in concert during her surgeries. Lethe was currently using eight spiders at once with their small limbs working on her body with mechanical precision. Three more of them were waiting in the wings with what looked like looms of skin built out of them.

"Will Lily be able to eat normal food now?" Dr. Yamada asked as they turned a corner. Dragon did not have them in view of a camera, but her drone's microphones could pick them up. She maneuvered her drones to cut them off since she assumed Faust was going to meet up with Phoenix and Epoch who had reentered the building and about to run into them.

"She will need to start slow by drinking liquids and slowly moving up to more solid stuff. But she will need to still feed on living pigs and cows to supplant her diet. I left extensive notes in her case file for Dragon and her doctors to review," Faust responded before their conversation was interrupted by the sudden arrival of Epoch and Phoenix who greeted Faust casually as they turned the corner.

"Are you finished now?" Epoch asked with a slight note of apprehension in his voice.

"Just about," Faust replied. "There are a few patients that need more help than I can give in a few hours due to the need of experimentation for safety, but they are now well enough to leave the center to seek me out on their own."

"You are very easy to find," Phoenix said with a laugh. "We should be wrapping up about now. Let's go get her."

"Her?" Dragon thought starting to read through her patient medical records. Did Faust come here for someone specific?

"Why didn't you work on her first?" Phoenix asked as she backed up against the wall to let Faust move past her before following behind with Epoch who was looking closely at the headless figure.

"I was going to, but she specifically asked me before we arrived to save her examination for last," Faust said shrugging her shoulders. "She argued that I would have unlimited time to work on her once we left and I agreed with her logic."

Faust and the others moved at brisk pace through the hallways while Dragon finally finished preparations and activated the suits to start moving toward the center. She would have them land nearby to be able to quickly respond to Faust once she was done helping this final patient.

She also sent a message to the STARS quick response team outlining the situation and that she was waiting on standby. A moment later she got confirmation that Side Step would be sending Crawler in the next ten minutes and gave Side Step directions to show up on the west side of the compound to hopefully deal with their hidden sniper.

Eventully Faust's group stopped in front of Sveta's room and Faust started to examine the newer protective suits lined on the side that were built specifically to handle Sveta's grip strength.

Dragon reviewed Sveta's file while maneuvering her drones to get a better view of her room through the vents. Sveta had been known as Garrote before coming to the center and she was one of the most extreme body changed case 53s on record. Sveta was little more than a very pale face with thin tendrils streaming around it like hair. Small but functional organs dangled from the largest of the tendrils that extends from the back of her face with a small "C" tattooed on her cheekbone.

Sveta was also completely incapable of controlling the strength of her tendrils, which lead her to instinctively crush any stressor with them, and she was strong enough to bend steel bars.

She had a very high body count of 102 people due to being found near and hunted by a local anti parahuman militia in Virginia. Sveta had escaped being sent to the birdcage because of the killings being in self-defense, and because of the lack of control she had.

It did not take Dragon long to read over her digital footprint and discover her relationship with Cowboy of the Void, who she accidently found out was Epoch after looking through Sveta's private messages on PHO. Dragon very quickly realized the significance of what would happen if it ever became known that PHO's staff was "unmasking" capes through their PM's.

Since Epoch was not a violent offender with no kill order, she decided to keep his real identity to herself for now. While she did not personally agree with everything in the unwritten rules, a part of her admired why Epoch had chosen to reveal his real identity.

"You're not going to wear them?" Dr. Yamada asked Faust as she hung the suit she had been looking at back up.

"The amount of force Sveta can theoretically project will not cause any real damage to me in the short term. Phoenix there literally can't die," Faust said pointing to her who flexed and inflated her arm muscles to pose. "And Epoch is also very hard to hurt permanently thanks to his power. You can wait here or put on a suit if you are worried."

"But just in case we have the headless horseman" Phoenix joked eyeing the headless figure open the door to Sveta's room. Epoch was standing still at attention right beside it.

Dragon's drone finally found a better view through the vent and spotted Sveta currently hanging above her doorway with her face looking apprehensive. Her tentacles were gripping the doorframe. Her room was largely Spartan except for several long steel columns shaped almost like cat scratching posts and a large computer with no visible keyboard or mouse taking up a corner of the room.

"Sveta, can you hear me?" Faust called out as the headless figure opened the door stood just under Sveta.

"Yes," Sveta answered in a small nervous voice.

"I am sending in a special Lusus for you to use. Don't worry about breaking it, it's very tough and you will be in complete control of it."

"Are you sure, I'm very strong," she said starting to shyly peek down from the top of the door. When she spotted Epoch she jerked back up with her face red.

"Trust me, I promise you that it will not break." Faust said a little tenderly. "I'm sending it in now."

The headless figure walked into the room and removed the cloak covering it, revealing a stylized body that looked like a cross between a bronze sculpture and a headless skeleton. It was largely hollow and looked to be made of metal at first glance, but a closer examination showed that it seemed to be made of some kind of colored bone.

The inside was covered in red lines and spongy yellow nerves that seemed to have built into the body. There were long and hollow grooves built into its arms, legs, and back with a large empty cavity in its chest, and a groove for Sveta's head fit through.

"Do you see the large vents in its limbs?" Faust said.

"Yes. I see them," Sveta said bending down to inspect it with a look of wonder on her face. She fell gently to the floor and looked it up and down.

"You can squeeze through and lock your tendrils into the limbs and fingers. It will take some practice but you can use it as a temporary body until I can make you something better," Faust said moving forward. "Go ahead and put yourself into it and tell me how it moves. I can make some adjustments it to make it a little easier to move in."

Sveta slowly eased herself into it with her tentacles tightly gripping the body and squeezing. There was an audible grinding noise which caused Sveta to squeeze and back off. After a moment of trepidation, Sveta took a deep breath and forced herself to climb over it. She slowly felt out the deep grooves on the body and carefully pushed her body into it with her head taking its place on the body.

"Does it fit okay?" Faust asked. "I only had an estimate for your total mass, so I might have gone a little overboard with how big it is. Your tendrils will be a little easier to control once they are locked into that Lusus's limbs. "

"Yes, it just feels weird in here," Sveta said experimentally raising an arm up and down with a look of concentration that slowly morphed into a smile when she made a fist.

Dragon did not recognize the material Sveta's new body was made of. It looked similar to bone also seemed partially mechanical. Sveta seemed a little excited as she methodically walked back and forth across her room.

"I realize it is clunky and not good for delicate tasks but it is only temporary," Faust called out. "I have some spare clothes for you to wear and some bandages to wrap around you to help you blend in a bit better. Do I have your permission to come inside and scan your body?"

Sveta shook just a little and she looked more than a little nervous as she flexed and continued to test her range of motion. After a few minutes of experimentation, she finally said it was okay for Faust to come in.

Sveta looked a little star struck as Faust squeezed through the door and rose above her with the numerous arms on her back stretching out. Her mask slowly started to change into the shape of a rose as she faced Sveta.

"Nice to meet you," Faust said holding her hand out. "We've come to pick you up."

"Nice to meet you." She said smiling as she shook Faust's hand. "What happens now?"

"Well it should take me a few minutes to fully scan your brain and body before I know what we need to do. There is a…." Faust paused as she realized that Sveta wasn't looking at her.

Epoch had stepped inside and was calmly staring at Sveta who had fallen silent unmoving. "Hi," he said nervously.

"Hi," Sveta repeated back at him a little bashful.

Before anyone could react, Epoch walked up to her, and slowly removed his mask. Dragon's view was from behind Epoch and she inwardly sighed as she temporarily pixelated his face. She imagined joking with Colin about romantic if idiotic gestures as Epoch for the second time freely gave away from his identity.

She had a soft spot for Epoch's gesture so she decided to keep his face hidden for now. The unwritten rules were useful for a reason and she did not want to give Faust cause to start using the full extent of her abilities to find out people's identities in case this figure was just another of her avatars.

Epoch built up the nerve to suddenly step toward Sveta and give her an awkward but deep kiss. Surprised, Sveta's tendrils tried to shoot out but were confined by the arms on her new body. Instead her new bodies arms spasmed and she shrieked Epoch was thrown into a nearby wall with a very audible crunch.

A second later Epoch appeared unharmed right inside the door next to Phoenix who had rushed inside at the scream. Faust had instinctively moved forward before relaxing a fraction later when his body disappeared.

"Sorry, couldn't wait to do that," Epoch said rubbing the back of his neck to Sveta who looked like she had been close to having a panic attack. She was still breathing heavily with a look of shock on her face.

Faust snorted and seemed to be trying not to laugh as Phoenix slapped Epoch in the back of his helmet so hard that he fell face forward on the ground. "You stupid fucking bastard. You almost gave me a heart attack," Phoenix said staring down at him.

Interestingly Hellhound and Lethe had both reacted to the scream despite neither of them being nearby. Hellhound had snorted with a large frown on her face while Lethe had laughed out loud. It seemed that Faust had a method for communicating or sharing the senses between the members of her team. She quickly sent new instructions to Crawler and Side Step to not attack the sniper if he detected him until she was ready.

Sveta's face had turned bright red as Epoch picked himself up. "Epoch why don't you give us some privacy while I talk with your girlfriend," Faust said still chuckling.

Epoch sheepishly moved back outside the room with Phoenix right behind him still looking a little angry.

"He is not the best with people but I think your boyfriend's heart is in the right place," Faust said.

"Boyfriend," Sveta said trying out the word.

"So, I have good news and bad news which do you want first?" Faust said moving a little closer.

Sveta's face turned a little solemn as she looked up at Faust. "The bad news please."

"The bad news is that you brain has a very unusual structure and most of your organs are out and in your tentacles. Which means I can't operate on your tentacles safely until I have cloned a few examples of your brain and body to make sure I understand how they connect and work before trying anything too extreme. Which means it will take some time before I can try to give you a proper body."

"What is the good news?"

"Well the good news is I happen to have been working on a way to temporarily weaken parahuman powers including Brutes for surgery and after scanning your brain I can see why you are having so much difficulty controlling your limbs. Give me ten minutes for a quick surgery and your lack of physical control will be a thing of the past. It will take a little physical therapy to make sure you can handle more, let's say delicate tasks," Faust said following her gaze to where Epoch was waiting outside, "but you can be safely around other people again."

Dragon was intrigued by the mention of a method of operating on Brutes. Bonesaw had shown a similar ability in the past but the actual methods of how she or Faust was capable of it was unknown.

"When can we get started?" Sveta asked a little excited.

"Now if you wish. Just kneel down with your back to me and put this on," Faust said pulling out a small gas mask from her coat. Sveta complied and maneuvered her body to kneel in front of Faust with her back to her. She took the offered gas mask and put it on after a final deep breath. "Now take another deep breath and count backwards from a hundred," Faust said gently.

For a moment nothing happened and all that could be hurt was Sveta's deep breathing. Then Sveta's head gently went limp as Faust's arms stretched out and lifted up several spiders that started to clean everything around Sveta and Faust. A small drill was taken to Sveta's head as Faust started to operate.

It shouldn't have been that easy to drill on Sveta's head Dragon thought. There must have been something in that gas mask that seemed to weaken or disable Sveta's abilities. She gave confirmation to Side Step as Crawler was deposited near the Center. Crawler moved forward as stealthy as possible while Side Step left to pick up Narwhal.

Faust had been operating on Sveta for only a few minutes when she raised her tail up and all the eyes on it narrowed on Dr. Yamada who was starting too look very visibly sick again.

"I admire your commitment to being present for every patient, but at least let me give you something to help deal with the nausea if you wish," Faust said with one of her arms reaching into her pockets for a small container that she held out to Dr. Yamada. "It's an over the counter substance you can find overpriced in any drug store, nothing special about it."

"I'm alright, thank you," Dr. Yamada said shaking her head. "Do you mind if we talk a little? It helps keep my head cleared."

"Sure, if you think it will help," Faust said shrugging her shoulder with her body still completely focused on Sveta.

"Do you mind answering a few questions?"

Faust turned her head and stared at Dr. Yamada for a few seconds before answering. "Alright," she said slowly. "Only if I can do the same."

Dr. Yamada seemed to silently contemplate for a moment. "That sounds fair. Do you want to go first?"

"Alright," Faust said while pausing for a few minutes. "Well there is something I would like your professional input about. It involves a difficult situation with a certain teenage parahuman."

"I will do my best. What is the situation?"

"This parahuman is a teenager and they are showing many symptoms of clinical depression and anxiety. I have kept them under observation and studied their behavior while building a mental profile on them. What I found was a parahuman seemingly headed to some kind of mental breakdown if something was not changed. I was afraid that they would hurt themselves or others if something was not done."

"How do you know for certain this person is depressed?"

"They are sad or irritable for most of the days of the week and this has been going on for months at least. They also don't have any friends or interests that they enjoy, have very little energy or motivation for anything they do, and they currently reside in an emotionally abusive home. I am worried because they are a extremely powerful parahuman."

"Elaborate powerful."

"I believe this parahuman could easily destroy a city in a day and I am not sure I am capable of defeating them if they truly went all out."

That really didn't sound good Dragon thought, running through a list of new parahumans in Brockton Bay. There had been a notable uptick in trigger events among the docks after Faust's Purge. All of them had chosen to leave Brockton Bay but a young teenager in the docks would have much more trouble leaving the city than an adult.

"Quite a difficult combination, but I have dealt with such issues before," Dr. Yamada said with no change in emotion. "What have you done to try and help this parahuman?"

"I met with them personally and offered my support and some suggestions to help themselves."

"Such as?"

"A few things that I would prefer to keep private but I stressed the importance of seeking help, taking themselves out of their stressful environment for a break, and finding a therapist to talk about the main issues they are dealing with."

"I take it this did not go over well?"

"No, they threw my offer of help back in my face and refused to seek help which forced me to more serious measures. You have to understand that this parahuman is potentially very dangerous and they are not mentally in a good headspace. "

"Many people say the same things about you."

To put it mildly, Dragon thought. Director Tagg seemed to think that a another one of Faust's Purges could erupt at any moment and forced the Wards to constantly drill for rapid response.

"I admit there are similarities between us and I am well aware of how dangerous I potentially am, but there are important differences. I have a strong support network, am happy and fulfilled in what I do, take very careful consideration of my mental health, and have taken steps to put up safeguards to make sure I will not cross certain lines. This parahuman has none of that and I am very worried they are becoming a very real danger to themselves or others."

"You do not strike me as someone who would leave a potential threat alone. What exactly did you do after she rejected your offer?" Dr. Yamada asked.

"I….I forced them to watch a very stressful and terrifying account of what they could potentially do with their power. I basically forced them to acknowledge their problems and the potential consequences if they keep on their current path."

"That could very well have made the situation much worse. What has happened since then?"

"They have thankfully taken a break and left their difficult home and work environment. They have also taken steps to better themselves at least somewhat mentally. But they have absolutely refused to seek therapy or help of any kind. At this point I am a little worried what would happen if I tried to more forcibly push them toward it."

Dragon pulled up a list of all licensed therapists and counselors in Brockton Bay. A number, which had risen dramatically since Faust, had taken over the docks. Faust had funded and strongly pushed counseling and mental health services along with more mundane medical services. She made a note for the PRT to be made aware of a new potentially very powerful teenager.

"I speak from experience, dragging a teenager to see a therapist or a counselor isn't likely to be very effective," Dr. Yamada said leaning in closer to Faust. "After all, would you feel comfortable speaking with a stranger if someone else tried to force you to do so?

"I see your point," Faust reflected.

"Perhaps you should make the PRT aware of the potential situation? They could provide help."

"Forgive me but I do not see the PRT as the best example of a healthy mental health treatment system," Faust argued. "The PRT's involvement could potentially escalate this parahuman's breakdown since this parahuman is terrified of how their power will be perceived. Brockton Bay did not provide the Wards therapy until very recently, and what I have heard of it does not fill me with confidence. You are of course aware of their current system where they rotate therapists to keep them from growing close to their patients?"

"I agree with you that there are several valid issues with the Protectorate's current health system," Yamada admitted. "I've written letters arguing that before, but dealing with this parahuman on your own does not seem very smart either. You do not have the expertise, or trust of this parahuman to make real lasting change."

"I know I have made a mistake and I fear that I have made things worse in some ways," Faust lamented. "But for now they are cooperating and I wanted some advice on how to push them to seek therapy."

"Have you spoken with their parents or the family doctor about your concerns? A doctor can help you determine whether or not the symptoms you are seeing rise to the level of requiring further treatment. A doctor can also help you identify the most appropriate services and treatment professionals for this parahuman Even if your teen isn't willing to attend those services, understanding your options and resources is important."

"This teen does not want to get their parents involved and both of them are not the best caregivers. Neither of them have realized anything is wrong, and both have made it obvious they are not very caring toward them."

"Still, parent training often yields better results than individual counseling," Yamada imparted. "A lot of what I do is help teach parents so they can learn how to coach a teen on how to use various skills, manage emotions, and improve relationships. If you are truly so worried about this teen, you must explore all options. Make the parents aware of your concerns."

"If that doesn't work or makes things worse?" Faust inquired.

"Then the best advice I can give is to give options and make agreements. No one likes being told what to do. Give this teen a voice in the decisions about their life. It may be more appropriate to choose a different intervention than therapy. Doing nothing isn't really an option. Have them talk to a trusted adult, read a self help book, take a yoga or meditation class, go to a support group anonymously, have them exercise regularly, art or music therapy, and try to get parents to go to therapy with them. Is this teen homeschooled?"

"No."

Dragon admitted that Dr. Yamada had a point about alternative interventions. She had never considered seeking that type of help. She very quickly searched about several self help books dealing with depression and meditation.

"Then a good first step is to speak with their guidance counselor at school. Discuss whether or not there are any services available within the school system to help them. Meeting with a school counselor can sometimes be much less threatening to a teen compared to meeting with a mental health professional in an office setting."

"The bottom line, is that therapy is not the end all be all. Sometimes these types of agreements work well. In my experience, once teens come to therapy a few times, they find it's not so bad and they will participate. For some, a different therapist or different strategy might give better results. I also strongly suggest you make the PRT aware of this parahuman."

"Thank you. I will take your suggestions under advisement," Faust said briefly turning to look at Dr. Yamada before turning back to Sveta. "I'm almost done here. I believe it is your turn to ask a question now."

Dr. Yamada was silent for a moment before taking a quick glance toward Faust. "If you had three wishes what would you wish for?"

Faust paused as she turned to stare at Dr. Yamada with her voice sounding surprised. "That's the first thing you ask me? What would I do if I had a genie?"

"Not a genie, but three wishes. Truly think about it. If you had three wishes that you know for a fact would come true, what would you wish for?"

"Well the disappearance of the Endbringers and Scion for one," Faust answered matter of factly.

"The Endbringers I more than understand, but why do you want Scion to disappear?" Dr. Yamada asked curiously while keeping her voice neutral. Dragon herself was also curious. While Scion was not very intelligent, his presence had definitely been a net benefit for the world.

"I don't have any hard evidence, but I am fairly sure Scion or the beings behind him are the source of parahumans. Why else do the major differences between this Earth's and others change so significantly after Scion's arrival?"

That was one of many theories currently being floated by the scientific community, but there was no real evidence one way or another Dragon thought. She personally believed the presence of the Endbringers and Cauldron had pushed the recent explosion of parahuman numbers.

"While you are not the first to make that conclusion, and I can see why the presence of parahumans has made the world more dangerous, that doesn't seem to be enough of a reason to get rid of Scion," Yamada stated.

"I just do not trust something we know nothing about. With the sheer range and depth of powers out there, why has no one ever been able to find out anything about him?" Faust wondered. "We know more about the Endbringers than we do about the golden man. I will admit he has helped the world. But whatever Scion's true purpose is, I don't think he has our best interests at heart. I have my own theories about Scion, but I prefer to keep those to myself until I have enough evidence for peer review."

"Peer Review?"

"I am a parahuman and thus almost certainly have a blind spot or two that comes with my powers by design. If Scion is behind the creation of parahumans, then I must also have a blind spot toward him. To combat this I am gathering as much data as possible with my theories that I will send to non-parahuman researchers. There might be very obvious answers or patterns in my data that I am blind to. Only idiots do not run their plans and research to non parahumans to make sure there is not an obvious weakness or blind spot they can't see by design."

That was a very interesting idea Dragon thought. In fact it made a good deal of sense. She hadn't even realized Saint's true abilities without the philosopher looking at it from an outside perspective. That would definitely be something she would run by Colin later.

"What about your second wish?" Yamada asked.

"My second wish would be that Karma actually existed."

"What do you mean by Karma exactly?"

"Good things happen to good people and bad people get what's coming to them. The sad truth of our world is that more often than not the bad guys win."

"Are you perhaps a former Buddhist?"

"I am not the spiritual or church going type," Faust said shrugging. "Perhaps you could call me a Maltheist if anything. If god does exist, he does not have humanity's best interest at heart."

"And your final wish?"

Faust silently kept working without saying anything before eventually answering. "This is surprisingly harder than I thought. There are a few personal wishes but I would want something that would have the greatest impact. Hmm….my last wish would be that the Protectorate is reformed."

"How so?"

"How to explain? Look I'll admit my own history colors my perception of them and a part of that are my own beliefs. I never even attempted to make myself known to the PRT because I knew how they would treat me after Nilbog. They would never have let me experiment or push my tech to the heights I have managed to on my own. Especially with Director Piggot in charge. I truly believe that if I had joined the Protectorate, my city would not have changed for the better."

"What history?"

"Trying to get me as a patient Dr. Yamada?" Faust mused.

"Just making conversation."

"May I ask what you think of me now?"

"You are not the crazed out of control Vigilante many portray you as. You are very caring toward your patients and I believe that you are trying to make a real positive difference in people's lives. To be honest I wish you would join the Protectorate. You could do so much working together."

"I truthfully can't even picture myself as part of the Protectorate anymore. It just wouldn't work."

"Do you hate the Protectorate?"

"I don't hate the people in the PRT and the Protectorate. I still consider them heroes dealing with a very tough and dangerous job. I used to own Armsmaster underwear," Faust said laughing a little. "But I hate the organization as a whole and how they do things. At first it was because of how they abandoned the docks."

"Abandoned?"

"Yes, abandoned. "People," Faust's voice rose with each word until just before yelling she forced herself to calm down. "don't choose to live in shitty neighborhoods with crumbling infrastructure, terrible schools, and no jobs. Lung murdered at will, enslaved women and immigrants, spread drugs and the Protectorate did jack shit against him."

Faust turned around to face Dr. Yamada while the arms on her back stretched out to keep working on Sveta. "Why did they stand by doing nothing as people suffered under Lung? Because they decided that the cost of removing him was too high. The power vacuum could lead to a gang war. Fuck the people in the docks and everyone who had to suffer under him," Faust said with a touch of bitterness.

"But that is nothing new. I know from experience how authorities like to leave people to suffer and pretend they don't see anything for the greater good of everyone else. The Protectorate is no different. More and more villains cross the line and break the unwritten rules and they do nothing. And who cares about the little people that get hurt?"

"But I wasn't the only person who had trouble with the Protectorate. There were many others who hated how they did things and I became aware of quite a few skeletons in the Protectorate's closet. You probably know more than a few than yourselves."

"I will be the first to admit that the Protectorate is not perfect," Dr. Yamada explained. "More than one director does not offer mental health services at all, and many do not see or treat the Wards as the children they are. But I think you are being too hard on them considering how outnumbered they are."

"Really? I came along and they suddenly go harder and faster at arresting me than they ever did against any of the other villains in my city. I am no saint but I like to think I am objectively better than the Teeth. Honestly the real reason the Protectorate does not like me is I am powerful, seem to be more effective than they are, and am not under their control."

Dr. Yamada was interrupted from speaking by Phoenix walking back inside. "You almost done? The Red Hands are getting impatient and acting weird."

"I just finished closing her up," Faust said gently spraying something on the back of Sveta's head while her body stood back up with Sveta still sleeping soundly. "They're getting impatient because Dragon has been watching us for the last ten minutes."

"Oh," Phoenix said pulling out her knives. "I thought she was running late."

"What?" Dr. Yamada said freezing.

"What?" Dragon thought in surprise as she simultaneously lost contact with several of her drones.

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Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been delayed due to a variety of factors. I seem to have started writing slower, I can only really write on weekends since I am so busy during the week, there have been a large number of games I've been playing which eats up weekend times, family issues, and I've also started a new SI fanfic which I am debating if I should start posting here or not.

Here is the first half. I had to rewrite the conversation between Taylor and Dr. yamada since the original version was tad too preachy and involved some philosophy with the story of the city of Omelas. I am actually trying to shorten the 2nd half of the chapter to get on to the other interludes. Since alot of things start to happen in this arc as people react to Taylor including her enemies. But might as well just post it now since time really had gone by. This year has gone way too fast. 2nd half should be up hopefully by Saturday.


	29. Chapter 29

Dragon pushed her drones into evasive maneuvers while scanning for nearby threats. Whatever Faust had just done, she now had less than 18 drones left, with most of those in the vents. She played back footage of the drone's cameras and paused to see what looked like a weird cross between a slug and a snake with bits of machinery sticking out of its head that briefly glowed blue before exploding.

She managed to get most of her drones out of the vents before a second group exploded, but this time she lost the cameras and the lights in the center, with the backups failing to turn on. An EMP?

"Yes, they generate a very small EMP when they explode," Faust said answering Dragon's unasked question out loud. Through the single drone she had left in the vents, she observed Faust visibly inspecting Sveta. She maneuvered what she had left of her drones through windows outside and sent them along the wall to wait until she had a visual of whatever else Faust had prepared.

"While your suits are hardened against it, I've just dealt with most of your drones." Faust turning around with Sveta's new body rising up at her command with Sveta still asleep inside. "Dr. Yamada do you mind escorting Sveta to Lethe? She is just recovering but I want to make sure Lethe keeps an eye on her before we head home."

Dr. Yamada was still up against the wall, though she had recovered from her initial shock to nod at Faust who whispered something to her that Dragon's drone couldn't quite pick up. Faust then rose on her tail until she stared right in front of the vent.

"I am aware that you must have one or two of your Cawthorne models outside as they're the only thing fast enough to get here in time to matter. I would prefer not to damage the center or bother any of the patients, so do you mind if we do not fight until we are all outside Dragon?"

Dragon sent a warning to Crawler who quickly took flight into the night air. His large wings flapped and he flew lazily, trying to not make it seem obvious that he had already smelled the sniper out. She sent him another warning about unnecessary force against suspects and ordered him to wait for her signal.

Faust would not have put any surprises or traps in the center itself. If she had already predicted her coming here, she would have planned for fighting outside. The First Cawthorne headed into the air scanning for anything out of the ordinary while the second waited patiently to fire on anything with Gleam's beam. The Ladon was still waiting in its hangar underneath the strings Epoch and Phoenix had set up. Until she could verify Epoch's location, it was better to not release it until she knew it would not be torn apart.

"Alright, I will give you two minutes," she said. In truth, she wanted to delay Faust as much as possible for at least Narwhal to arrive but she was worried what Faust could be planning. It was obvious she had been planning this raid for some time and if Faust felt she was outnumbered she might be pushed to do something rash.

"Thank you, that is very much appreciated," Faust said turning and heading to the door before stopping to turn back to the drone. "Oh, before I forget I've also left you a gift from a mutual friend of ours on the center's computer system."

A gift? That could mean several things, but Dragon doubted that Faust was capable of creating a computer virus that would slow her down for very long. There were perhaps only three people in the world that could do that and all were accounted for. Teacher was safely in the birdcage, Overmind was preoccupied dealing with the rest of Seattle uniting against her, and Saint was probably watching everything right now.

Still, just for safety's sake she took her time to carefully push past the firewall in the center's system, while keeping an eye on the intruders. Most of the thief group was staying inside the center near the entrance, but Faust and Hellhound had walked out and were waiting patiently in the field. Hellhounds dogs were chasing each other around while two trench coated figures waited right behind them. Epoch and Phoenix were nowhere to be seen.

Once she broke past the firewall, she found a list of schematics and jpegs of tinker tech that was definitely Faust's work. Some of them looked to be medical in nature while others seemed to include designs of some kind of farms. To her surprise, she also recognized the telltale code signature of the Philosopher.

That made too much sense. Only they would have been able to give Faust such intricate knowledge of the center's computer system and her drone design. She was thankful that the Philosopher was careful with cape identities. As much as it sickened her, she knew that Saint was probably watching anxiously to see her fight with Faust. It would be the perfect time to read and send a message while he was distracted.

She took control of the few remaining center drones while also ordering one of the Cawthornes and Crawler to attack. She kept the other Cawthorne in reserve for whatever Faust was planning. She divided her time between directing them and deciphering the message in the background.

 _Hello Dragon, I thought we should have a little chat. Please feel free to continue trying to arrest me while you read this. I don't mind at all. A mutual friend of ours mentioned your communications might be under surveillance by a certain villain. One who should hope and pray that he never comes near Brockton Bay if knows what is good for him. But I digress._

Her drones had both Hellhound, her dogs, the trench coated figures revealed to be giant bugs that looked like a disturbing mix of cockroach and hornet, and Faust herself suspended in the air. None of them had resisted which made her uneasy. She moved the first Cawthorne to pull up behind Faust cautiously, wary for an ambush.

Dragon heard a loud scream followed by a litany of cursing from Crawler before all her microphones could pick up was the sound of Faust who had started to use her ability to replace every sound in the area with her talking.

"I didn't physically hurt him," Faust said patiently while still floating in the air. "I have a few ideas that theoretically might be able to hurt Crawler but I can't be sure that it won't kill him. That's the problem with testing how tough Brutes are."

"Then what did you do?" Dragon asked keeping her eyes peeled for Epoch and Phoenix. The thieves were still waiting in the entrance with guns at the ready while holding position.

"Crawler was stationed in my home until very recently, where I discovered that his sense of smell is extremely sensitive. The decoy he just attacked unleashed, well, let's just call it a very potent chemical stink bomb mixed with a powerful hallucinogen I derived from Newter. It won't kill him, but trust me he isn't very happy or coherent right now. I am hoping to see how effective it is against the Siberian in the future. She also is supposed to have a very powerful sense of smell," Faust said as her tail spikes started to glow blue. Dragon realized what it meant and a second too late to matter as Faust released a large EMP.

Every single one of her drones surrounding Faust died with their fields dropping. But she had the first Cawthorne spray both Faust and Hellhound with containment foam before they had a chance to move. The bug things took to the air but she ignored them, as their blades would not be strong enough to damage the Cawthorne. She sent a warning to Crawler that both of them were headed for him.

She made sure to be extra thorough spraying layer upon layer onto Faust and Hellhound until they were little more than small hills of foam. She maneuvered the suit closer to start setting up one of Colin's portable filtration units in case Faust tried to release something dangerous into the air, when she suddenly lost contact with it. Through the second Cawthorne's cameras, she could see that it was frozen in mid air thanks to Epoch's power.

"You know Dragon you would not believe how long I spent trying to replicate this foam," Faust said with her voice replacing the sounds of Hellhound's dogs who had started howling around their master. "It is perfect for a non-lethal takedown for all but the strongest Brutes. But sadly, try as might; I was never able to figure it out. But figuring out how to destroy it was surprisingly easy."

There was a loud cracking sound in the foam surrounding before Faust broke free to grapple the Cawthorne just as it started to move again with all her arms spreading out to find better purchase on it. The engines kicked into overdrive as she rose up to try and shake her off, while Faust started to use her tail to slither around it's limbs.

 _As you are more than aware considering you made the simulations in the first place we have roughly 35 to 40 years before society starts to collapse thanks to the Endbringers. While the news has been playing the collapse as a slow and gradual thing ever since I made the public aware of it, it will actually be very sudden. The first hints of it are already starting to show. Food prices going up, cities abandoned rather than being rebuilt, widespread poverty and slow economic growth, and the Protectorate leaving greater number of dangerous villains who break the unwritten rules alone._

Faust was laughing like a lunatic and her laughter had replaced the shriek of the jet engines on the Cawthorne as it took evasive maneuvers to try and shake her off. Electrifying the hull had only made her laugh harder as her multiple arms tore off and crushed pieces of the hull. Faust had thrown some kind of compound from a vial, which was weakening its structural integrity.

Dragon sent it into an immediate climb to try and make her lose consciousness. It only had to last long enough to reach the upper atmosphere; then she would catch Faust with the other Cawthorne once she started falling. But before it got too far it was frozen again thanks to Epoch. Through the other Cawthorne's cameras she saw that it had completely frozen while Faust was falling back to the ground. A moment before she hit the ground, she was suddenly teleported already moving fast on the ground with no ill effect.

Epoch still had not shown himself and was periodically freezing her suits and Crawler who was busy trying to catch Faust's bugs in the air. They were not any faster than he was but he having trouble flying straight and they kept spraying more of that chemical on him whenever he got close.

She dialed down the beam from the second Cawthorne to fire multiple less powerful shots, trying to take advantage of Epoch's limit on traveling things which PRT intelligence suggested was ten seconds. She just managed to hit Faust directly in the center of her chest after Epoch traveled her back. Faust flailed briefly before falling to the ground and starting to melt.

So yet another decoy which was consistent with previous tactics used by Faust. Current intelligence theorized that Faust was limited in what she could control outside of her territory. Which meant that there probably was a limit with often she could pull off the decoy trick. She sent the second Cawthorne higher up into the air as a precaution for another trap while Crawler dived after one of Faust's bugs that had lost its wing from his spit. He had either modified himself so that the smell no longer affected him or he had started to enjoy the noxious effect on his body.

A small explosion drew her attention to edge of the wood where three more copies of Faust's current avatar were taking refuge behind the trees with a new type of flying bugs flew up. They were fatter and less agile but still moved fast as they headed for the weakened first Cawthorne. She hit one with containment foam and it exploded in a large fireball that seemed to actually burn through the foam. Could it be derived from Spitfire? A moment later a dozen more of the things took off from the tree line.

 _I find you amazing Dragon. I truly do. You were my role model as everything a Tinker should aspire to be. I wanted to make as a big a difference in the world as you have. I admired how you tried your very best to live by standards that I have tried to emulate. Never killing unless you absolutely had to, never taking any credit and even preferring to work in the background, and doing you best to help as many people as you could rather than for some agenda or politics purely because it's the right thing to do. Whatever else happens, I want you to know you have my respect and the world is better off with you in it._

Normally Faust's bugs would never come close to matching her suit's speed, but Epoch's power had enabled them to catch up. She had already lost the first Cawthorne that had been weakened by Faust thanks to Epoch pushing them ahead or freezing her suits from his hiding spot. She maneuvered the other Cawthorne higher than Epoch could see and started sniping Faust's bugs in the air. Their own explosions worked against them since Epoch could not rewind something that was completely destroyed.

Faust sent them back into the woods for cover and she changed tactics to aiming at the woods around the field, hoping to catch Epoch unawares. Crawler changed direction to head toward where she was focusing all her firepower. She still couldn't communicate with Crawler thanks to Faust replacing all the sounds with her voice humming, but Epoch seemed to be distracted.

She took the chance to cut the strings over the hangar of the Ladon and waited ten seconds to make sure Epoch couldn't reverse the damage. As soon as ten seconds were past, she raised the Landon slowly up while keeping it low to ground with a force field to help hide it from Epoch's view. She waited ten more seconds and then had it break for the tree line and contained every thing she could see. Epoch rewound the Landon several times but she kept containing the bugs with their explosions unable to break the fields they were trapped in.

The three Faust clones responded to her attack by releasing some kind of thick green smoke into the air that prevented her from aiming and her sensors couldn't get through. She brought the Cawthorne closer to the ground so it's engines could clear the smoke while she kept a force field on standby. Epoch was revealed to be trying to hide behind a tree with most of it having been eaten through by Crawler's spit.

He kept freezing or rewinding Crawler to keep him low enough to the ground for Hellhounds dogs to tackle him to the ground and pin him. He was too tough to be hurt, but they were pulling on his wings to unbalance him and they were just strong enough to keep him from getting up easily.

 _It has depressingly become clearer to me that parahumans such as you are rare in the Protectorate. Don't get me wrong, they do a lot of good and they have great people in it, but they have more than their share of flaws that no one seems to want to acknowledge. I've seen it before. Active abuse and wrongdoing is going on, but people pretend not to notice. No one is willing to rock the boat; they just try to do their job as best they can while ignoring the obvious._

Phoenix had stretched her body out to grotesque proportions to serve as a living shield that blocked Crawler for the Cawthorne from taking an occasional pot shot. The Cawthorne's beam didn't seem to be very effective on Phoenix's body and she was too long to contain with a force field. Epoch kept rewinding Phoenix as she or the Faust clones took damage but he couldn't affect any of her suits thanks to the Landon distorting the light with a field. But they were slowly but surely being pushed back by keeping the pressure on Epoch who was forced to keep rewinding himself so he wasn't trapped.

Hellhound's dogs were still wrestling with Crawler, though Hellhound herself had disappeared. She suspected that Faust had prepared for this fight by digging tunnels under the ground like she had during her ambush of the Empire 88. She unfortunately didn't have the proper equipment to track underground tunnels, she was still able to trap two of Faust's clones in a field despite their attempts to dodge. But again, Faust did not even attempted to escape. Could they all be decoys with the real one elsewhere? Narwhal should arrive in a few minutes, and Dragon was confident with her help that she could hopefully be able to apprehend Faust.

Which was when the ground started to shake. That didn't sound good.

Epoch and Phoenix turned to run with Hellhound's dogs veering away from Crawler who ignored them as he rose up in excitement. The last uncaught Faust released a new line of smoke while the two trapped by the Landon's fields started to to talk as one.

"I admit that the quantity of what I can bring to bear is limited outside of Brockton," Faust's voice said a little gleefully through the sound of her engines. "Which is why I went with quality instead."

Dragon put up another field over both of her suits as Dragon became aware of a massive shape running fast in the distance and zoomed in to reveal what looked like a stereotypical werewolf on first glance, just on a far larger scale. It was at least two stories tall and covered in bony plates with massive bone spikes jutting out of uneven skin that didn't fully cover every inch of it's body. It ran hunched over on two legs and Hellhound's voice growled in anticipation from it's mouth.

"I made it as a proof of concept for the upcoming Leviathan fight. I wanted to see just how big I could make something using Bitch's power. I am genuinely curious about how you rate it for potentially holding and distracting Leviathan. Meet Bastard, version one."

 _I'm just so tired of this stupid Kabuki play the Protectorate promotes Dragon. I think I know objectively why the PRT and Protectorate allow it, but our world is growing darker and the old system isn't cutting it anymore. Brockton got worse not better under our current system and our city is far from unique. More Villains who break the unwritten rules go unchallenged, the Slaughterhouse 9 atrocities are downplayed or censored out of embarrassment, more and more dangerous parahumans are being created, and the Endbringers inevitable march goes on._

As big as Bastard was, it was amazingly fast. In a flash it had closed the distance and started throwing trees at her suits like they were javelins. Her suits were fast enough to dodge most of them but she was forced to release her prisoners so she had enough coverage to block the trees from going past her and potentially hitting something. Crawler had been knocked out of the air and was currently pinned under Bastard's foot. Dragon was at a loss of what to do. It was too big to trap with containment foam or a force field and the Cawthorne's weapon seemed to barely annoy it.

She moved the Cawthorne until it was outside of Faust's range to give a warning to the local authorities and sent out a request for backup. Afterward she took a chance to send the Cawthorne closer which the Landon blocking the trees and she fired it's beam right at Bastard's eye which seemed to briefly stun it and it rolled back. Bastard kept an arm up to protect it's head and started collecting trees for more ammo when it briefly paused and turned curiously toward the other end of the field where Narwhal herself had appeared.

Her long, glossy, pale hair tossed wildly as she ran full tilt. Her fine crystalline scales shone in the moonlight and her large horn was pointed straight ahead as Hellhound laughed out of Bastard's throat and ran forward in a loping gait to meet her. They neared each other before Bastard's eyes rolled up in it's head and it just collapsed falling forward. Narwhal veered to the left to avoid and never stopped as the body started melting, heading straight for the Faust clones who turned and ran.

 _Do you want to know why I am so popular in the docks? It isn't the jobs I'm providing, the extra help, or even the medical care. It's the simple promise of safety. Think about that for a second and it should tell you just how much good the Protectorate and PRT are doing. I don't think the Protectorate or the people at the top of the PRT fully comprehend because they can't remember being the victims. They are thinking so big picture they miss the obvious problems on the street._

Narwhal led the chase after Faust covered in an airtight field and with a oxygen tank to breathe. Dragon moved the Cawthorne to support her and Crawler. She moved the Landon over the center and erected a forcefield over the thieves who stood frozen. She sent a warning to Narwhal when they all collapsed into a red gas synonymous with the thieves previous thefts.

Crawler and Narwhal split up after separate Faust avatars and Dragon decided to keep the Cawthorne on the same heading. Faust had probably already escaped but she kept scanning the ground and noticed an irregularity in the dirt. Narwhal had removed the limbs of the Faust she was chasing which caused it to melt and she veered toward the spot Dragon had seen. Crawler kept going after his Faust after he was dosed with something in his eyes that made him slow down.

Narwhal had just reached the spot in the dirt when an explosion underground sent a shockwave that raised up a huge cloud of dirt and dust. She kept the Cawthorne on standby, weary for another ambush with Narwhal moving back to assist Crawler while the dust settled.

Dragon moved her suit closer as another Faust avatar moved slowly out of the dust cloud. She was chuckling as he waved a hand in greeting.

 _I would like to make you a proposition Dragon. I am leaving you detailed instructions and samples of some of projects that I think will help if things start to break down. All I ask is for your help when the situation calls for it. I'm not asking you to look away from any crimes I commit. All I am asking is that if and when the big battles come that threaten the world we work together against the Endbringers, the 9, and if even half of what Faultline thinks about them is true, Cauldron._

Faust was lazing around on her coiled tail like a seat and looking at Narwhal with her mask copying her face. "I can definitely see why you are in charge of the STARS team. I don't suppose you would agree to an autograph would you?"

Narwhal responded by making a force field that cut off both her arms which caused Faust to audibly sigh. "Guess not. No hard feelings Dragon," Faust echoed while replacing the sound of the Cawthorne's engines again. "It was a true pleasure to meet you. See you at the next Endbringer Fight. Oh, and do tell director Tagg that I'm looking forward to his stupid little plan."

The was a brief flash of green fire as Faust started to melt and Dragon knew she had gotten away. She automatically started to send the Cawthorne back to help search and secure the center as sirens could be heard getting closer. It would take hours to go over everything to make sure Faust had not left another surprise.

 _I'll let you in on a secret Dragon, I know what its like to be afraid and depressed all the time. For the longest time I was scared of my power and I struggled to get up in the morning and go about my day. But then I lost people very important to me, and I realized life is too short to live in fear. Take it from me, don't live your life regretting the things you wish you had been to afraid to try. I refuse to sit by and do nothing anymore. I may very well be the monster the PRT fears, but I truly wish for your happiness and that you aren't afraid to someday face the world as you truly are._

 _If you ever want to talk, you know where to find me._

* * *

It had been an especially long and difficult fourteen hours since Faust had gotten away. She had debriefed and gone over every single one of her actions three different times to Director Tagg and Costa-Brown, the STARS team, and the Brockton Bay Protectorate.

The Center was being quarantined for the next week until every patient and worker had been fully cleared. Preliminary examinations had confirmed that no one had been physically harmed, but everyone was being very careful to make sure no one had infected by a dangerous agent. Normally they could count on Panacea to quickly check, but she was still on vacation after her recent sabbatical from school.

Despite Tagg's concerns, it had been decided that the STARS team would stay in Seattle after Overmind's recent escalation. Faust had remained where she was in Brockton and it was feared that sending the STARS team back would send the wrong message and could incite her to escalate.

She was currently waiting patiently while waiting for all of her father's systems to finish checking out her recent actions. She had spent a longer than usual time sitting in the dark going over what Faust had said before making a decision.

After she was free to move again, she set up her avatar program which had a stern and slightly scared expression before calling up Colin who looked surprised but pleased to see her.

"Hello Dragon, I wasn't expecting you to call so soon," he said before a small line of worry appeared on his face. "Is everything okay?"

"Colin, there is something I need to tell you."


End file.
